


Wait A Minute

by VioletNuisance



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: And they’re not step bros in this, But a lotta fluff, Cigarette Addiction, Daddy Kink, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Homophobic Slurs, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Phone Sex, Semi Public Sex, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, They’re 18 in this, a lil angst, can you tell I’m bad at this, faint FAINT themes of internalized homophobia, handjobs, implied awkward boners, its a fun ride, nicotine addiction, not gonna lie, oh no, plz just read it, sal wants to be choked
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-10-02 14:17:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletNuisance/pseuds/VioletNuisance
Summary: You left your diary at my house, and I read those pages...Do you really love me baby?





	1. Skimming Pages

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by the song, Wait a Minute!, by Willow.
> 
> Also, this is the first time I’ve written in a whole year, so I apologize if I’m a lil rusty.

The nauseating scent of paint thinner was prominent in the air as Larry prepped the blank canvas in front of him. For the past few nights, he had always woken up in a cold sweat, fleeting images of snapping teeth and the gut wrenching sound of skin ripping following him into his abrupt consciousness. Over the course of his time living in Addison Apartments, Larry had become all too familiar with not having an organized sleeping schedule. However, he had discovered a few years ago that painting his hellish nightmares quelled the visions to a dull roar.

 

The slick sliding of the oily paintbrush on the canvas was the only sound in the room, aside from Larry’s own tired breathing. His eyelids fluttered, begging to close and plunge him back into sleep, as he dropped his hand from the canvas. He threw his brush onto his desk, too exhausted to realize that also effectively flung paint thinner all over his desk, and bent over to pick up his box of oil paints from the ground. His calloused fingers tugged the lid off before discarding it in similar fashion to his brush. His teeth subconsciously worried at his bottom lip as he glanced down at all of the tubes. 

 

He didn’t know where to start.

 

Artist’s block wasn’t something that Larry was unfamiliar with, but he didn’t experience it frequently. His dark eyebrows knitted themselves together in frustration as he glanced back up at his canvas. The stretched-out fabric stared back, belittling him.

 

“God damn it.” His voice was gruff and obnoxiously loud in the quiet house. He inwardly cringed, almost wishing it had been a night where Sal came over, so he didn’t feel so awkward in the silence. Larry instantly felt bad as the thought crossed his mind, knowing the other only came over during the night when he was wracked with nightmares that were even worse than Larry’s.

 

With a sigh, he grabbed a paper plate and a couple of paintbrushes and sat on the edge of his bed with the oil paints. He forced himself to pick a color and started mixing it into different shades on the plate. His force on his deemed mixing brush was a little too rough from a toxic mixture of sleep deprivation and annoyance though, so the tip of the brush plunged through the plate, sending paint onto Larry’s lap, bed, and floor.

 

“Fuck,” he whispered out loud. He folded the plate over to keep the rest of the paint in it and set it to the side. His boxers were utterly ruined since they took most of the impact, but his bed sheets would probably survive as long as he got them into the wash soon. 

 

The carpeted floor creaked beneath his bare feet as he stood back up. His arms crept up over his head as he arched his back into a long stretch. Once his joints popped enough to satisfy him, he turned to face his bed. He leaned over and tossed his pillow to the ground as well as a Sanity Falls blanket that hadn’t been scoured with paint. He lumped the rest of his covers into the middle of his bed and lifted the mattress slightly, so he could undo his fitted sheet. However, when he slid his hand under the cushion, the tips of his fingers were met with something firm and smooth. Confused as to why something was stuck under his bed, he grabbed the object and tugged it out.

 

One of his eyebrows raised of its own accord as he realized he was holding a book that he was sure he had never seen. The covers were composed of worn brown leather and crude stitching ran up the spine. It was obvious the item saw heavy use as fingertip marks were eroded into the leather. Larry cracked open the cover. The pages were yellowed and some were curled, most likely from water damage. However, what caught Larry’s eye were the two lone words scrawled on the front page in black marker.

 

_ Sal Fisher _ .

 

The penmanship of the name was the worst Larry had ever seen, even by Sal standards. Either his friend had been in a rush writing it, or he had been much younger when he wrote it. Shaking his head, Larry turned to the next page, expecting for the book to be some sort of paranormal textbook. He was greeted with the same atrocious handwriting though, nothing what he had been expecting. Confused, he began to read the page.

 

_ The prosthetic didn’t fit. It could take weeks or months for them to fix it and send it back. Dad doesn’t seem to- _

 

Larry’s eyes widened in realization, and he snapped the book shut. He never would’ve pegged Sal to be the type to keep a journal of any sort. Despite closing the diary, Larry couldn’t seem to set it down. Him and Sal had been friends for a couple of years now, and the other still had trouble communicating how he was feeling to him. It was beyond tempting for him to read it in order to understand the other better, but he felt guilt just at the notion of snooping through Sal’s private belongings.

 

Still, the morbid curiosity was eating away at him as he stood there.

 

Against his better judgment, Larry cracked the book back open. The passage he had been on was dated years back, long before Sal had probably ever even heard of Addison Apartments. The male sucked in a breath and continued reading.

 

_ Dad doesn’t seem to mind. He says I can stay in the house with him for as long as I need. We both know he’s just trying to fill Mom’s absence in the house. _

 

Where Larry’s finger had been following along the lines as he read, it came across to a warped portion of the page. Studying the paper, he realized there were markings that looked suspiciously like long ago tear stains. He stiffened, not wanting to think about the fact that Sal might have been crying when writing the passage down. His eyes trailed back to the edge of the book where he could see how wavy the pages were once more. He prayed that wasn’t due to water damage from crying.

 

The passage he was on went on for a couple more lines, voicing Sal’s disdain at being cooped up. Larry looked to the next passage, seeing that it was closely dated to the prior one. He thumbed through the pages, wondering if there was anything semi-recent. He kept flipping until his eyes caught the phrase ‘Addison Apartments.’

 

_ I’m not a fan of Addison Apartments. The place… puts off a bad vibe. I wish Dad hadn’t gotten me to go with him when he toured the place. _

 

Larry let out a chuckle at that. Boy had Sal been right. The boy tended to stick his nose where it didn’t belong and had uncovered cult activity in the complex that their gang was still trying to make sense of. Larry flipped towards the back of the book and was met with blank pages. He backtracked a few pages until he got to Sal’s last entry.

 

_ He’s driving me insane. Just writing this now makes me want to peel the rest of my face off. I don’t understand how…  _

 

The ‘w’ in how was written almost to where it was unrecognizable, and no words followed it. Sal hadn’t finished the passage for whatever reason, so Larry looked at the ones before it for context. He was met with no luck. He turned a page back, hoping this hadn’t been the first time Sal had written about the ‘he’ he had mentioned. Instead of words though, Larry was met with a drawing.

 

He had to say he was impressed. For never having mentioned anything about art and never have taken classes, to Larry’s knowledge at least, Sal was pretty good. It was a rough sketch of the treehouse behind the apartments where the duo resided when they needed a break from their ghost hunting.

 

Larry flipped back again and was met with another sketch: one of himself. He cocked his head in interest and leaned a little closer to the book. Sal had captured him well in a semi-realistic style, but it was evident from the eraser markings that he had had trouble with the taller male’s nose. Larry gave a light laugh at that and flipped back once more. The page was filled with words once more.

 

_ There’s no in between. One day I’m just happy hanging with everyone, and the next I want Larry to choke me- _

 

Larry choked on his own spit. He brought a hand up to his mouth as he began to cough. After a few minutes had passed, he got to a point where he could clear his throat and go back to reading.

 

_...I want Larry to choke me. I want him to wrap his hands around my throat and squeeze until he breaks it. I’ve gotten him caught up in something bigger than either of us, and I don’t want to be the reason he gets hurt. I want him to destroy me before I can do worse to him. _

 

A few lines were left empty before the writing started again. There was no date with it, so Larry couldn’t tell if it was from the same entry or not.

 

_ Most nights are fine now. I rarely have nightmares anymore, maybe biweekly at most. I can’t stop going to his place at night though, lying to his face and saying the visions are still torturing me. I can’t stop. _

 

There was another line without writing before the last sentence was written.

 

_ I’m weak. I want him. _

 

Larry tried to calm his racing mind, tried to tell himself that last passage might not be about him. However, he knew better, and his face betrayed him as it heated up. He reread the passage at least ten times, trying to come to a different conclusion but failing each time.

 

Sal was smitten with him.

 

The walkie talkie on his night stand crackled to life, scaring Larry into dropping the journal page-down into a puddle of paint. His eyes went wide, horror sinking in as he realized there’d be no way of returning the diary to Sal and convincing his friend he hadn’t glimpsed into it. The evidence would be forever stained onto that entry.

 

“Larry Face?” Larry had forgotten about the walkie talkie and was frightened once more as Sal’s voice echoed in his room. He race walked over to it and grabbed it off its stand. He paused and took a deep breath before responding.

 

“Yes Sally Face?” His voice came out a little nervous, and Larry cringed. Sal didn’t notice however.

 

“I need to come over,” Sal’s voice trailed off, creating an abnormal pause before simply stating, “another nightmare.”

 

The last thought that crossed Larry’s mind was that he was absolutely screwed.


	2. Tearing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the positive feedback from the last chapter! I wasn’t expecting it, and it really helped to motivate me to get this next chapter written.

Larry’s fingers were tightened around the walkie talkie. The device had already powered off once Sal had hung up on his end, but the brunet was frozen to the spot. His eyes traveled around his room, landing on the damaged journal. He couldn’t give it back to his friend right now, not when there was the possibility that Sal could have actually suffered from a nightmare. Larry couldn’t add on to the other’s possible stress.

 

The chime of the elevator reaching the basement broke Larry out of his thoughts. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he turned back around and whipped the walkie talkie back to its stand. He scooped up the diary and ripped out the paint-stained page before chucking the book under his desk. The page crinkled in his hand as Larry tightened his grip, trying to figure out how to hide it. The tell-tale sound of his doorknob turning open encouraged the male to stuff it in his boxers for the time being.

 

“Sally!” Larry spun around on his heel to over enthusiastically greet his friend as the door was swung open. He saw the male lower his head slightly before looking back up at his forced smile, obviously confused as to why Larry looked a wreck. He was sure that if he could see beneath the prosthetic that Sal would have his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

“What’s going on?” Sal’s voice came out fine, uncharacteristic for how it normally sounded after the boy had suffered from night terrors. Larry crossed his arms over his chest, mentally reprimanding himself for now over analyzing his friend.

 

“Nothing, what do you mean dude?” At the end of his rebuffment, a plop of paint fell from his boxers and onto his foot with an audible splat. Both boys looked down at it in an awkward silence. “Actually,” Larry started, running a hand through his beyond tangled hair, “It’s been an interesting night.”

 

Sal finally closed the door behind him and walked into the room. Larry heard him sniffle from behind the mask and had to refrain from laughing. Sal absolutely hated the smell of oil paints. “Sorry, should’ve warned you that I had been painting,” he joked. He ran his hand through his hair once more before resting it on the back of his neck. 

 

His eyes were glued to Sal’s back as the other walked to the front of his desk and stopped. With bated breath, he prepared for his friend to see the book and yell at him. However, all Sal did was turn his gaze to the blank canvas before turning his head to Larry. A strap of the black tank that the blue-haired male had been wearing fell off his shoulder at the movement, showcasing a jagged scar that ran from his shoulder to the base of his throat. Larry had become familiar with the light scars that littered Sal’s upper arms and chest, growing in severity as they traveled up his throat and under his chin. However, the other still refused to let Larry see what lay beneath his mask.

 

“Painting everything except your canvas I see,” Sal remarked as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his pyjama pants. Larry let out a wry laugh.

 

“Like I said, it’s been an interesting night,” he explained. An awkward silence ensued, something that had never happened during their friendship. Larry’s mind scrambled for something to say as he listened to the floorboards creak from Sal shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Bedsheets,” he unceremoniously spat out, “I mean, I’ll get some new bedsheets.”

 

Sal simply nodded as he watched Larry bundle up the stained sheets in his arms before traversing to the closet and throwing them on the ground there. Despite his staggering height, Larry had to stand on his toes to reach the sheets on the top shelf. He heard Sal chuckle as his fingers clawed at the shelf, struggling to get a grip on the sheets and pull them down.

 

“Like you could do any better,” Larry grunted as he finally got the sheets to fall down and into his waiting ams. Sal snorted at that.

 

“I feel like I’ve been able to do most things better than you,” Sal challenged. Larry could practically imagine the other’s lips twisting into a shit eating smirk. He shook his head as he walked back over to the bed, a smile tugging at his own lips.

 

“Then I hereby challenge you, Sal Fisher, to a duel of painting.” Larry dropped the blankets onto the mattress before facing the other. He reached out a hand to Sal. “Do you accept?”

 

Sal grabbed the hand, giving it one firm shake. “As long as it’s acrylic,” he replied. 

 

“I guess I could make an exception from doing oil just this once for you,” Larry teased as he retracted his hand. In the back of his mind, he recalled the two sketches he had seen in Sal’s journal, and he wondered if the other could actually paint as well as he could draw. 

 

“Here, let me take care of that. You need to go change,” Sal said, motioning to the fresh sheets that lay crumpled on the bed.

 

“Are you sure? I mean, are you feeling alright?” Sal cocked his head at the question, almost as if he had forgotten why he initially came over.

 

“Oh, right, the nightmare. I’ll be fine,” Sal reassured as he pushed past Larry to reach the bed. Larry looked at him for a moment, deciding that Sal hadn’t suffered from a nightmare that night. He looked away at the realization, face heating up as he recalled the contents of the journal.

 

“I won’t be that long,” Larry choked out as he made a dash for the door, grabbing another pair of boxers that were laying on the floor.

 

Once his bedroom door clicked shut behind him, Larry let out a breath he didn’t know that he had been holding. His heart was beating crazy against his chest and anxiety had started to make his hands shake. He was a complete and utter wreck.

 

The male tried to concentrate on the sound of his feet softly padding against the carpet of his living room, not the fact that Sal, his best bro, was in his room.

 

His best bro that harbored some sort of sentiment for him.

 

Larry let out a groan of frustration as he entered the bathroom, locking it behind him. The tiled floor was cold against his feet, making him shiver. The brunet set his boxers on the edge of the sink before burying his face in both his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut until he began to see fireworks in the murky black of his eyelids. Only then did he slowly drag his hands down his face and stare at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. Guilt and hatred stared back at him.

 

“God damn it Sal…” Larry whispered the expletive to himself, feeling almost sick. He wished he had never opened the book, never trespassed into Sal’s belongings. The revelation of his friend’s feelings made him feel some sort of way, he just didn’t know what way.

 

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Larry let his paint encrusted boxers fall to his ankles. It was only then that he remembered about the page he had ripped out. He bent down and grabbed it from the refines of his wrinkled clothing, crumpling it into a ball in his hands. He threw it into the toilet, frustration making him chuck it harder than necessary. Larry cursed as toilet water splashed onto the floor but made no move to clean it up. Instead, he flushed that cursed page down before quickly redressing in the new boxers.

 

By the time he returned to his room, the bed was already made. The sheets were tucked with precision beneath the mattress and the pillows had been fluffed to perfection. Larry had to give credit to Sal for being able to make a bed better than he ever could. His gaze shifted to where the male currently was. Sal’s back was turned to Larry and he was flipping through painted canvases that the brunet had leaned up against his wall. Larry always told himself he’d hang up a painting once he made one he actually liked. For now, his dry paintings would have to gather dust on the floor.

 

“Oh,” Sal breathed out, almost inaudible. Larry snapped back to reality and looked at his friend again only to pale. He had forgotten about that painting. “So that’s what you think I look like.”

 

Sal had dug out a canvas from the back of the stack. It was a painting that Larry had done the past summer when he was feeling particularly dismayed about the other’s distrust of him. He had tried to capture what he thought Sal looked like behind the prosthetic. He had been proud of the piece, but now that his subject was holding it, he wasn’t so sure if he should be. Larry walked up to him, not sure of what to say.

 

The blue-haired boy laid a finger on the painting’s right eye and chuckled. “That’s where you fucked up Larry Face,” Sal stated. 

 

“What? What did I do?” He asked, leaning over to inspect the painting. 

 

“You painted me with one too many eyes,” Sal replied. Larry froze, tilting his head to look at the other’s mask. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out any features that were hidden by shadow in the prosthetic’s two eye sockets. “Stop it.”

 

Sal jerked his face away from Larry, and the taller male instantly felt bad. “Uh, sorry. Um, what about the rest of the painting?”

 

Sal didn’t respond for awhile, preferring to stare at the painting. Right as Larry opened his mouth to apologize again though, he answered the question. “My nose isn’t intact like the one you created. Mine’s practically scratched off.”

 

Larry did not care for the phrase “scratched off.” He crinkled his own nose out of reflex, earning a snort from Sal. “You also didn’t add nearly enough scars.”

 

“Wait, how many?” The brunet questioned out of curiosity. Sal set the painting down, and pulled his hair up with one hand. Larry watched in silent anticipation as the other hand undid the mask’s bottom strap. Too scared saying something would change his friend’s mind, he just watched as the other tugged the mask up a little to where it only showed his chin and lips.

 

“A fucking gross amount,” Sal answered, voice losing confidence as Larry continued to stare. The skin was an angry red and a web of scars twisted up his chin to his lips. One scar, deeper than the rest slashed through his upper lip, pulling the right corner of it up to behind where Sal still had the mask on. After a moment, he let go of the prosthetic and let it slide back to place before relatching it. Larry still hadn’t said anything. “I’m a lot uglier than what you had envisioned.”

 

“Different, not uglier.” Sally scoffed at the remark before turning to the bed and crossing his arms.

 

“I think I’ll be able to sleep now,” he remarked. Larry paused, not knowing if he should say something else about what just transpired but decided not to. It was evident that Sal didn’t want to talk about it.

 

“Alright dude, could you toss me a pillow and blanket?” Sal was already up and onto the bed. He flopped onto his back, making the bed frame creak. He spread his arms and legs out as wide as he could. His toes nor his fingers reached to the edges of the bed.

 

“Larry, what do you see right now?” Sal asked. The duo went through this every night that the other came over. He begged Larry to not sleep on the floor, that the bed was spacious enough for them both. The brunet always declined, roughing it out on the floor instead.

 

Tonight, the idea of sharing a bed with Sal seemed more daunting than normal. He wasn’t just afraid of one of them accidentally knocking the other off tonight.

 

“My number one bro laying sprawled out like an idiot,” he playfully huffed as he tugged a blanket from out beneath Sal. The shorter male reached beneath his head and launched a pillow at Larry’s chest. “Ow, that one really hurt,” he fake whined. Larry held up a hand to his heart and over exaggeratedly pouted his lips.

 

“Fine you buffoon. Sleep on the floor like a dog, see if I care,” Sal fake chastised. Larry laughed and spread his blanket out on the floor before laying on top of it. “Good night Larry Face.”

 

“Night Sally,” Larry responded. He lifted both his hands up from where he laid and clapped twice. The lights flickered out. From above him, he heard the sheets rustle as Sal sat up. As he heard the clicks of the other unfastening his mask, he turned on his side to face away. He at least wouldn’t invade that aspect of his friend’s privacy.

 

An hour dragged by and Larry still laid wide awake. Sal, on the other hand, had fallen asleep almost as soon as he got under the covers. His gentle snores were the only company the brunet had. With a grunt, Larry turned over to lay on his side and face the bed. He was greeted with one of Sal’s hands. The brunet shifted his gaze up a little to see that the other’s arm was slung over the side of the bed. He dared not look any higher though.

 

Not having any better way to pass the time, he squinted in the dark at the other’s hand. His nails were coated with black nail polish as always, the tips beginning to chip from where Sal bit at his nails when he was bored. Squinting even harder, Larry could barely make out a scar he had never noticed before. It was tiny and ran only on Sal’s thumb. The brunet wondered if the other had more from his accident that he had yet to see.

 

Larry wished he had never wondered that.

 

Instantly, images of his friend flashed in his vision. He was bombarded with mental pictures of scars running along the other’s hip bones, dipping below the waistband of the skinny jeans he normally wore to class. He imagined scars running up pale legs that teasingly stopped just below his hips. Larry never thought he could be so intimidated by picturing scars.

 

“Shit,” he growled out, making sure not to wake the other. He lifted a hand to his mouth, biting down on his index finger as heat began to pool beneath his stomach. Almost as if he disbelieved what was happening, he lowered his other hand to below the waistband of his boxers.

 

Best bros were not supposed to get boners over each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, I most likely won’t be able to update again until the weekend. Are you guys enjoying the story though? I still feel rusty from my lack of practice with writing, but I hope to get better.


	3. Ignoring Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative title to this fic: Larry Gets A Heck Ton Of Awkward Boners
> 
> But guys, thank you for all the support. The response I’m getting from this story is honestly overwhelming.

_ Larry had tried, he really had.  _

 

_ He had flopped onto his back, long hair splaying out onto the floor. His teeth were buried into his index finger, sure to leave a bruise. With his eyes squinted shut, he willed his erection to go away. However, all of his actions had just been delaying the inevitable. _

 

_ As ten minutes crawled by, Larry finally came to terms with the fact that he might have to take a more hands-on approach to rid himself of his aching problem. A small groan, one out of frustration and humiliation, passed his lips as he finally brought his hand away from his mouth. Ignoring the shame that would surely torment him in the morning, he hesitantly lowered his hand to his boxers. His thumb hooked under the waistband and tugged the garments down just far enough, so his cock would be free. Larry paused, jostled by a particularly loud snore coming from his bed. _

 

_ Was he really going to jerk off with Sal sleeping not even one foot away from him? _

 

_ The answer made guilt crawl beneath the brunet’s skin but didn’t stop him from taking his cock in his hand. His free hand made its way to cover his mouth as he began to stroke himself. Tears beaded in the corners of his eyes as his body shuddered, thankful to finally have some sort of contact in his horny haze. The tips of his ears and cheeks became incredibly flushed as Larry picked up his pace, allowing his hips to buck up messily into his hand. He didn’t care about elongating his pleasure, he just wanted to reach his orgasm.  _

 

_ The slick sound of his hand sliding against his length accompanied Sal’s snores in the otherwise quiet room. Larry’s toes curled against the rough carpeting as he felt himself getting closer to finishing. After a few more pumps and the arch of his back, the male finally hit his climax, dripping cum onto the bottom of his nightshirt. A guttural moan sounded in his throat, one that his hand couldn’t hide, as he rode the high. _

 

“Larry… Larry!” Ash’s voice brought Larry back down to earth and out of his head. He blinked, trying to remember what conversation their lunch table has been carrying. Failing to do so, he gave a sheepish smile to the girl seated in front of him. “Jesus, what’s with you today?”

 

“Yeah, seriously,” Todd’s voice added, “you’ve been zoning out all day.”

 

Larry gave an awkward laugh as all three of his friends stared intently at him from around the table. “He probably didn’t get much sleep last night,” Sal answered, saving Larry from having to come up with an excuse.

 

However, that just made the brunet panic internally as he recalled why he had failed to doze off. Out of habit, he cracked his knuckles. “Why would you say that Sally?”

 

“Maybe because you were painting in the middle of the night and then had to deal with my bullshit,” the shorter male replied as he picked at his food. The styrofoam tray squeaked under the pressure of his plastic fork. “Why? Did something else “pop up” that kept you awake even longer?”

 

Sal’s voice was smug, and Larry narrowed his eyes at his friend. The blue haired male rested his head on a hand as he stared back at the brunet, his prosthetic hiding his expression. The other’s styrofoam tray continued to creak as he added more pressure to the fork while waiting for Larry’s answer. “Alright then, you two are being especially weird today,” Todd stated, grabbing his tray. “I’m going to go find Neil.”

 

“No, Todd! Don’t leave me alone with them,” Ash fake cried, overdramatically holding a hand out to Todd. The boy rolled his eyes and went his way.

 

“Haha, very funny Ash,” Sally said, finally turning his attention away from Larry. Ash snipped something sarcastic back at the boy, but Larry wasn’t paying attention anymore. He let the background chats of the lunch room wash over him as he got lost in his thoughts once again.

 

There was no way, absolutely none, that Sal could know what he had done the prior night. Yet, the boy was definitely smug about something. Larry drummed his fingers against the table, aggravated about how much his life had spun out of his control in one mere night.

 

“Hey dude, are you okay?” A hand rested on his leg as Sal leaned closer to him to ask the question. Normally, the gesture would’ve just been seen as comforting, but Larry jerked his leg away, hitting the table in the process. His drink fell over from the hit, sloshing chocolate milk all over himself and the table. “Fuck.”

 

“Fuck seconded,” Ash groaned as she grabbed a handful of napkins from the table’s dispenser. Larry rushed to turn his drink upside right before the rest of it could spill out as the girl began to mop up the mess on the tabletop. Sal had grabbed his own pile of napkins, dabbing at Larry’s shirt. “Okay, what gives?”

 

Ash’s question was enunciated as she threw the soiled napkins onto her tray, staring at the brunet. “I did something stupid bad,” Larry finally admitted, only half paying attention to the girl’s reaction as Sal continued to “clean” his shirt.

 

“Alright, well let’s hear it,” Ash responded, leaning back in her seat. She put her hands behind her head, resting it in them. Larry shook his head in response.

 

“I can’t tell y’all right now,” he stated. Sal’s dabbing travelled lower down Larry’s abdomen, and the taller male grabbed his friend’s hand to stop him. He didn’t want a repeat of the previous night. Sal retracted, still not adding to the conversation. “I promise I will but not right now.”

 

Ash scoffed at that. “Doubtful.”

 

Larry glared at her and opened his mouth to snap back, but Sal interrupted him. “Hey guys, let’s not be petty bitches right now, okay?” Ash and Larry reluctantly muttered their agreement. “Great, and Larry are we on for that painting duel tonight?”

 

The brunet had forgotten about that already but found himself nodding anyways. “Yeah,” He agreed, “just come over after school.”

 

“Sounds good.” Sal stood and slung his backpack over a shoulder before grabbing his tray. “Oh, and guys…” The blue-haired boy trailed off. Ash looked up at him with concern.

 

“What is it Sal?” She asked. The boy fidgeted with the tray in his hands for a moment.

 

“I lost a book that’s really important to me. My name’s written on the inside, and if either of you find it, I’d really appreciate it if you’d return it,” Sal paused, “without reading it.”

Larry felt like someone had just stabbed him in the gut with a screwdriver. “Of course we will Sal,” Ash reassured him.

 

“Thanks guys, it’s really been worrying me,” Sal responded before leaving to go to class. Larry and Ash followed suit close after.

 

The rest of the school day was torture for Larry. He couldn’t concentrate on any of his classes. His mind kept thinking about the diary and reprimanding himself for ever reading it. He was sure Sal would notice the missing page if he returned it and trust him even less than he already did. Not only that, but the diary had opened a can of worms in his own personal life. He did not appreciate the way his stomach would flip now when thinking about his friend or how his chest would tighten to where it was uncomfortable. He was sure it was just because of the hot shame that coursed through his veins because he invaded Sal’s privacy.

 

Once the bell finally rung, releasing him from school, he met up with Sal, and they walked to the apartment complex together. The walk was full of comfortable conversation and the occasional sarcastic remark that was expected from their bants. At one point, Sal slid up his mask a bit, so he could smoke. Larry harassed him about getting a nicotine addiction before he lit up a cigarette of his own. Both boys made sure to put them out and properly discard them before entering the complex.

 

“Dude, I’m so ready to paint,” Sal exclaimed. The shorter male flung his book bag to the ground before flopping back down onto the bed. Larry chuckled at that before setting his own book bag down.

 

“Do you have any plans for the painting?” Larry asked as he walked over to his closet to get the second easel out. He heard the other hum in agreement. “Are you going to tell me then?”

 

“Nah, you’ll just have to wait until we’re done painting,” Sal said, sitting up on the bed now. His eyed watched Larry as the brunet finished setting up the easels and tore the plastic film off two new canvases. “Do you know what you’re going to paint?”

 

“Yep,” Larry replied. He was finally going to get around to painting the nightmare that had woken him the past day; the colors finally clicked in his mind. He hadn’t heard Sal get up, but the boy was suddenly beside him and started gathering clean brushes from off his desk. 

 

“So Sal,” Larry started, spurred on by a sudden bout on confidence. “What about Ash?”

 

His friend didn’t turn around to face him as he walked to his easel. “What about her?”

 

“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious she’s into you dude,” Larry said as he gathered the acrylic paints and poured them onto an assortment of paper plates. He made sure he didn’t make a lapse in paying attention to Sal though. “I guess I was just wondering if that sentiment was returned.”

 

“I don’t think she likes me like that,” Sal replied, scratching the back of his head. He turned to look at the brunet. “But no, I don’t like her like that,” he answered.

 

Larry carried the paints over to the easles and took up a brush as did Sal. He let the conversation die for a few minutes before continuing. “So is there someone else then?”

 

Sal’s hand that he was using to paint jerked to the side, effectively spreading brown paint to where it was not supposed to go. Larry felt bad about that but didn’t miss the way the other’s ears flushed red. “What’s with all of the relationship talk today?” Sal croaked out.

 

Larry shrugged his shoulders and let the corner of his lips twist into a small smile. “Don’t know dude, just wondering I guess,” he responded.

 

Their conversation halted after that as both of them put their full concentration into their respective paintings. As a couple of hours passed by, Larry looked over at Sal’s canvas. It was a painting of Larry himself, laying down on his side and brown hair flowing messily out behind him. The brunet had to admit that Sal rivaled him in painting ability. A twinge of jealousy shot through the taller male, but he swallowed it down and turned back to his painting.

 

“I think we need some music,” Sal finally suggested, breaking their silence. Larry watched him paint highlights into the hair before responding.

 

“Sanity’s Fall?” It wasn’t really a question. It was all the two of them ever listened to when they were alone together. Sal nodded, too absorbed in painting to give a proper answer. Larry set down his brush and walked over to his old radio. He selected the track that he knew was the other’s favorite. A quiet “hell yeah” could be heard from his friend as the music started and Larry laughed before returning to his own painting.

 

It wasn’t long before the paints and brushes were set down and canvases discarded. Sal was dancing in the middle of the room, which mostly consisted of head banging and air guitaring, as Larry set on the edge of his bed watching Sal and howling with laughter at him. 

 

“Do you dare to laugh at me?” Sal panted out, slowing his movements. 

 

“You look absolutely ridiculous right now,” Larry responded, barely able to stop his laughter to answer the question.

 

“Dude, this isn’t even my final form!” Sal started jumping and head banging harder than Larry had ever seen him to the music. The brunet was about to double over in laughter but was startled by a snapping sound. The next thing he knew, he was cradling his face in his hands as pain bloomed through his nose. It took him a few moments to process that Sal’s prosthetic had flown off the male and hit him in the face. “Jesus, are you okay?”

 

Larry looked up, faintly aware of a thin trail of blood trickling from his nose. The other rushed over to stand right in front of where Larry sat, rushing out apologies and worries, but he couldn’t focus on what Sal was saying. His eyes were glued to his face, not believing he was actually getting to see it. 

 

“Larry, answer me, are you okay?” Sal hovered over him, wiping the blood off his face with a thumb. 

 

“Sally face, you’re fucking hot.” The words slipped out of Larry’s lips without him thinking. He was too caught up in the moment to process what was going through his head. However, he did know one thing. Even with scars and all, the male in front of him was overly attractive to Larry. He might’ve not met the conventional standards of what made someone hot, but the brunet wouldn’t mind having those scarred, twisted lips stretched tight around his cock as he fucked Sal’s throat raw.

 

Sal reached a hand to his face, feeling the ridged skin. His vision flashed over to the prosthetic that lay beside Larry now. The brunet looked on in confusion and concern as the shorter male’s face crumpled in despair and he sunk to his knees in front of him. Sal folded his arms on Larry’s lap and buried his head in his arms, sobs starting to wrack his body. Larry hesitantly put a hand on the other’s head, not aware of why his friend was having a breakdown and unsure of what to say. 

 

When his cries died down to sniffles, Sal looked up and spoke.”You,” a hiccup interrupted him, “You didn’t look away.”

 

“What?” Larry still had his hand on Sal’s head, and his fingers subconsciously intertwined themselves in the blue locks.

 

“My prosthetic came off, and you didn’t look away,” Sal responded, voice gruff from his sobbing fit. He sniffed before running the back of his hand under his good eye, trying to rid himself of his tears. And in that moment, the worst possible moment, Larry Johnson realized that his best bro, Sal Fisher, was crouched in between his legs with his own hand gripping his friend’s hair. The observation went straight to his crotch.

 

“God fucking damn it,” Larry muttered out, ready to embrace death. Sal looked at him in confusion until he followed the male’s gaze down to his lap. He was stunned into silence for a second.

 

“Larry Face?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rush to get this out tonight, so I hope it doesn’t read as rushed,,, Also, criticism is always welcome!


	4. Tarnishing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize in advance, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. I also feel like Larry and Sal are a bit ooc, whoops.

Larry could feel Sal’s fingers grip tighter into his legs, out of shock or disgust he wasn’t sure. His own grip on the male’s head loosened as he began to retract his hand. The brunet was absolutely mortified and unsure what excuse he could use to save his hide.

 

“Larry Face?” Sal’s voice game out quieter than normal, and Larry cringed. The other’s grip never loosened on his legs, and the boy looked up to meet the brunet’s eyes. The taller male averted his gaze as he opened his mouth to come up with some sort of excuse. This wasn’t how he had imagined seeing Sal’s face would go.

 

“Um, Sal,” he unintelligently began. Larry shifted, so he sat further back onto his bed. The movement was made in hopes that the other would take the clue and stand up. However, his friend was knocked off balance by the sudden action and fell back onto his elbows. Sal let out a sound of indignation, but Larry wasn’t paying attention to that. He was more focused on the tent that his friend sported in the front of his red skinny jeans. If Larry hadn’t been hard before, he was now.

 

His gaze was directed to the shorter male’s face as Sal tugged down his black sweater to hide his boner. The shorter male had a fiery blush from the tips of his ears to the back of his neck, and he looked like he wanted to disappear into the floorboard. Larry was slightly comforted by the thought that at least he wasn’t the only embarrassed one. “I’m sorry,” the other croaked.

 

“Happens to the best of us dude,” Larry tried to joke as his friend finally got up to his feet. Sal didn’t laugh however.

 

“I think it’s time for me to leave,” the other muttered out instead.

 

“Wait, no!” In a panic, Larry sprung to his feet to barr Sal’s path to his book bag. His friend temporarily halted, still not looking up to meet his eyes. “Sally, you’re my best friend, my number one bro, so I think I could help you out with this one problem just this one time.”

 

Larry watched as those blue eyebrows knitted together in confusion over the words. “What are you talking about?”

 

Larry really hoped he had assumed right about Sal’s entries in his diary and took a hormone-induced risk. He hooked his thumbs into two of the other’s belt loops and pulled their hips close. Sal’s hands flew to Larry’s shoulder and chest, gripping his tan shirt for dear life as the brunet grinded their clothed erections together. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about Sally Face,” he growled into his friend’s ear.

 

“Larry - oh god, Larry,” Sal breathed out. The male’s head fell to rest against Larry’s shoulder and one of his hands ran up to grab at the back of the taller male’s neck. Larry paused his movements, concerned that the other may not be into this. However, after a moment, Sal bucked his hips against the brunet’s eagerly. “This is gay.”

 

“This isn’t gay,” Larry grunted out. Not relinquishing his hold on Sal’s belt loops, he walked his friend over to a space of his wall that wasn’t filled up with posters. The other male’s back hit the wall with a thud, and Larry lowered his hand to grab at Sal’s thigh and hoisted the leg up to hip level. “This is just a bro helping another bro out.”

 

Both of Sal’s hands clung onto the back of Larry’s neck for support, and the shorter male’s head rested against the wall now. His lips stayed parted as the brunet began to all but dry hump him into the wall. 

 

With the hand that wasn’t holding Sal’s leg, Larry gripped at Sal’s throat as he pressed his hips harder against the other. That elicited a small groan from the male against him. Excited by the development, the brunet gave the other’s throat an experimental squeeze. Sal’s parted lips closed into a smirk as he tilted his head to look at Larry. “I’m not made of fucking porcelain y’know,” he slurred, lips wet from drool.

 

Larry squeezed tight, fingertips digging into the scarred skin. Sal’s head fell back against the wall, and he grinded up against Larry as his breaths grew shallow. After the shorter male’s face got a little too rosy, Larry lessened his hold. At Sal’s gasps for air, he felt another spike of arousal hit him and began to choke the other again, hitting the male’s head none too gently against the wall. His friend all but writhed under his hold.

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sal whined out before his body shuddered against Larry’s. The aforementioned slowed his movements and released his hold on the other as his friend hit his orgasm, cumming in his pants. It was hot as fuck to watch Sal’s face contort in pleasure but added no relief to his own aching situation. Still, he let Sal’s leg go, and refrained from using the other’s body as a toy. His restraint was rewarded as Sal looked up at him from a half-lidded eye after calming down and sank to his knees. “I guess I could help you out as well.”

 

Sal ran a finger against the confined length, and Larry had to contain himself from bucking into the other’s hand as he began to palm him through his clothes. “Dude, please,” the brunet begged.

 

Sal didn’t respond to his plea but did undo the button of his jeans and pulled the zipper down. His hands grabbed the sides of the jeans and tugged them down enough, so he could fully see Larry’s cock, only confined by his boxers. The fabric was wet with precum and Sal ran another finger along the length teasingly. “Please what?”

 

“Dude, please, I just…” Larry couldn’t get the words out as Sal lowered the waistband of his boxers and grabbed his dick. He let out a low moan as the male below him began to slowly pump it.

 

“You just what?” The brunet whined in frustration as the other slowed his movements further, waiting for his answer.

 

“I just want to fuck your face,” he finally got out, hips jerking towards Sal as the male released his grip on him. Larry stared down at him as his friend hooked two fingers in each corner of his mouth, stretching it wide. His tongue stuck out from his lips, a bead of saliva trailing down from it. It was incredibly erotic, and Larry loved it.

 

The brunet was hesitant to go for it, and he stood there awkwardly for a second. Sal rolled his good eye at him, and that was all the encouragement Larry needed. He gripped each of the male’s pigtails with a hand and finally let himself sink into the other’s mouth. A soft whine escaped him at the immediate sensation.

 

Larry had started off awkward and slow, afraid to actually hurt Sal. But by the time he was teetering on the edge of finishing, he was thrusting his hips into the other’s mouth so forcefully that the back of Sal’s head kept hitting the wall. The male below him had a mixture of tears and snot running down his used face and lips were swollen to a puffy red, but he loved every minute of it.

 

The brunet finally pulled out, leaving Sal to cough and wheeze for air for a few seconds as Larry began to vigorously stroke his member. When Sal was finished with his fit, he looked back up at the other and opened his mouth slightly. The taller male groaned at the sight and pressed his dick against those lips as he finally felt himself hit his climax. His cum spilt onto Sal’s tongue, and the boy swallowed it down, licking his lips afterwords.

 

“Jesus,” Larry breathed out as he tucked himself back into his pants. Sal stood up on his own shaky legs, cringing at the feeling of the current mess inside his pants. Both boys stood in silence for a few minutes as Larry began to feel a plethora of emotions course through him, now that he could clearly evaluate the situation without his horniness interfering. “Jesus Christ, we really just did that.”

 

“Yeah, we did,” Sal agreed, one hand going up to fidget with a pigtail. Larry didn’t respond, preferring to stare at the floor.

 

It was going to be a long, restless night for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that Sal’s diary is actually important to the plot, just y’all wait. And can I say that I h8 this chapter? I’m not the best at writing sexual scenes, and this was a mess. It took three times as long to write as the others did, agh.


	5. Abusing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry @ everyone that said the boys needed to talk it out
> 
> Also, sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out

Larry regretted quite a few things in his life, but none of them even came close to this. The brunet laid on his bed, hands clenching his stomach. The anxiety and guilt that clawed at him made him feel physically ill.

 

_ “So what are we?” Sal’s hand was on the doorknob, but he refrained from leaving Larry’s room just yet. His prosthetic had been returned to his face, and the eye sockets encased in shadow stared the taller male down. _

 

_ “What do you mean?” Larry had asked, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. He was sat on his bed, an unlit cigarette dangling from his fingers and a lighter in the other hand. Sal looked down, not responding for a minute. The brunet took the time to light the cigarette and place it between his lips. _

 

_ “After what happened earlier, I just wanted to know if we were on the same page,” Sal finally responded. Larry took a drag, held it for a moment, then let the smoke slowly escape his chapped lips.  _

 

_ “And what page is that?” Larry’s voice came out harsher than intended, and his friend didn’t answer. “I’m not gay Sal.” _

 

_ The blue-hair male stiffened at that. Red covered his ears again, and Larry wasn’t sure if it was from humiliation, indignation, or a combination of the two. “I could’ve sworn differently when you had your dick down my throat,” Sal snipped, sarcasm dripping from his voice. _

 

_ “What’s it to you anyways?” Larry retorted, temper rising. He angrily puffed at his cigarette. “Are you gonna confess your undying love for me now that I’ve given you an orgasm?” _

 

_ That had struck a nerve. Sal had jerked open the door, slammed it behind him, and left without another word _ .

 

In the moment, Larry had been annoyed and mad. Now, he felt disgusted by his actions. He rolled over on his side and reached a hand out to his nightstand. After a few seconds of fumbling in the dark, he finally made purchase with his phone. He squinted his eyes in pain as the bright screen blinded him in the darkness of his room. After he recovered from his temporary ailment, he scrolled to his text messages and found Todd’s contact.

 

_ Todd, I need to talk. _

_ This is an emergency. _

 

Almost immediately, the reply came.

 

_ Yeah, what’s up? _

 

Larry hesitated.

 

_ I think Sal might hate me. _

 

The brunet’s phone started to ring, and he glared at it. He’d much rather type out his screw up than have to say it out loud. Letting out a sigh, he answered it and was greeted with Todd’s tired voice.

 

“What did you do?” The redhead asked from the other end, and Larry frowned.

 

“Why are you assuming I’m the one who did something?” Indignation was clear in his voice, and he could imagine Todd rolling his eyes at him in his apartment.

 

“God damn it Larry, just, what happened?” 

 

“I’m not gay Todd,” Larry started. He could hear the other boy snort through the phone. “But I may have done some very gay things tonight.”

 

“Please don’t use gay as a synonym for stupid Larry,” Todd sighed. The brunet quickly interjected, not wanting the other to launch into a lecture.

 

“No Todd, like Sal gave me a blowjob,” he blurted out. The line went dead silent after that except for the occasional crackle of static. Larry grew worried that the redhead had left. “Todd?”

 

“I’m processing, give me a minute,” the other male responded. Larry heard shuffling on the other end, like Todd was getting out of his bed. A pang of guilt shot through him as he realized his texts had probably woken the other up. “Ok, your sexuality crisis aside, why’s this a bad thing? Why do you think Sal hates you?”

 

“We got into an argument before he left. He wanted to know what our relationship or some shit was, and I was kind of rude to him,” Larry explained, running a hand through his bed head out of stress.

 

“Dude, he’s liked you for years! Why would you-” Todd cut himself off, sharply sucking in a breath. The brunet rolled over onto his side as he listened to the other try to cover up the information he had leaked.

 

“Todd, I already knew he like me. It’s fine,” he stated. Todd quit his rambling and let out a slow exhale. 

 

“How’d you know?” Larry’s eyes focused on the diary that was crudely hidden under his desk. He let out a wry laugh.

 

“It’s a long story,” he mused, “but I don’t know what to do about Sal now.” Todd hesitated before asking his next question, and Larry grew tense.

 

“Well, do you,” Todd cleared his throat, “do you like him?” 

 

“Well, obviously,” The brunet stammered out. “He’s my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do without him-“

 

“As more than a friend Larry,” Todd corrected, silencing him. Larry swallowed hard, fingers tensing around the phone.

 

“No,” he responded all too quick. He rolled back onto his back, feeling too restless from everything that had taken place in the matter of a few hours. “I think I’m going to try and get some sleep now. Thanks Todd.”

 

“Wait, Larry-“

 

The brunet hung up and dropped his phone onto his chest. Both of his hands tangled themselves in his hair as he stared up at the ceiling. He had the urge to run up to Sal’s apartment, wake the other up, and apologize profusely. However, he refrained because that would also entail them discussing what had happened between them. Larry was fine with blaming it on hormones, and Sal clearly wasn’t.

 

Larry chased sleep for the rest of the night, but it was always one step ahead of him. By the time the sun came back up and morning light filtered through his blinds, half his sheets were off the bed, he was missing a pillow, and he felt more tired than he had in a few months. Despite that, he let out a groan and rolled out of bed to get ready for school.

 

His first few classes had been boring, and Larry wasn’t going to complain about that. He was tired of having excitement in his life from the past two days. 

 

However, the boy felt trepidation course through his system as he made his way out of the lunchline, tray in hand. As he walked over to his normal lunchtable, he felt like he was marching into battle.

 

“Jesus Sal, if Travis did that, I’ll have his head,” Larry heard Ash snarl as he approached the table. Raising an eyebrow at her, he set his tray down onto the table and slung his bag beside his seat. Ashley had her arms crossed over her chest, and Todd ate his lunch, trying his best to ignore the unfolding drama. “Do you know anything about this Larry?” Ash asked as she pointed a hand to Sal.

 

“About what?” Larry looked over to the boy seated beside him, and in turn, Sal looked away from him. The blue-haired male’s hand tugged the neck of his dark grey sweater up, and Larry could make out faint bruises that covered his neck. There were five to be exact, one partially hidden under the shirt. The brunet’s eyes widened in realization as he remembered how he had choked Sal. He quickly averted his gaze to the table and swallowed. “No, I don’t.”

 

“Guys, it’s fine,” Sal croaked out, voice hoarse. Larry’s anxiety only grew worse as Todd gave him a pointed stare. “I just got into a fight with this stranger when I was walking home yesterday.”

 

“But didn’t Larry walk with you?” Ash interjected. Larry’s eyes snapped back to the girl, an excuse flying from his lips.

 

“I left him to go buy a new pack of cigarettes at the gas station,” he replied. He heard Sal laugh, bitter and devoid of any humor.

 

“Yeah, that’s the thing about Larry,” Sal started, “he leaves you when you need him the most.” The brunet bristled, and whipped his head to glare at the other. 

 

“I wouldn’t say that. We both agreed that we needed cigarettes. It’s not my fault that you got hurt after I got the cigs for us,” he retaliated. Sal rested his head on a hand as he faced Larry. His other hand drummed its fingers against the table. Larry was sure that if he could see the other’s expression that it would be full of snark and malice.

 

“But you got a different type of cigarettes than normal Larry, and when I tried asking why you got that type, you refused to share them,” Sal retorted. Larry slammed a hand against the table out of agitation.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. How was I supposed to know that buying a different brand would make you fucking question your whole smoking history?” Sal was suddenly standing up and Larry followed suit. “It’s not my fault you suddenly thought that I’d be buying that brand every time for the rest of my fucking life!”

 

“I hate you” Sal spat out. His fists were clenched by his sides, and he was visibly shaking in anger.

 

“That’s cute. We both know you couldn’t last two minutes without me,” Larry hissed as he folded his arms over his chest. Sal remained silent as Larry leaned closer to him. “I bet you go home every night and write in your diary about how much you wank over me.”

 

Sal pushed him, and Larry felt his ass hit the ground before he realized what actually happened. He blinked and looked up, but the other was out of sight. “What the hell was that about?” A feminine voice asked.

 

Ash came into the brunet’s vision, and she extended a hand out to him. Larry took it and pulled himself up off the floor. The girl was full of questions, but Larry couldn’t bring himself to answer one.

 

“I might have a clue as to what the hell that was about,” a voice declared. Larry and Ash both grimaced and turned to see Travis seated at their table by an uncomfortable Todd.

 

“Like you’d know,” Ash disregarded him. The blond looked all too pleased with himself.

 

“Well I do know that Larry did, in fact, walk home with Sally Face yesterday. And, I actually never saw him leave the freak,” Travis stated.

 

“Were you following us dude?” Travis twisted his face in disgust at that.

 

“As if I’d follow a couple of queers like y’all. I was walking to the gas station to pick up a newspaper for my Dad,” the blond explained. Ash looked from Travis to Larry to Todd who just shrugged his shoulders. “But I did happen to notice you two, and I don’t recall either of you getting jumped by someone.”

 

“Is that true Larry?” Ash questioned, uncertainty clear in her voice. The brunet fidgeted, unable to get an answer out. His eyes caught Travis’s and the other wrapped a hand around his own neck and faked a moan, mocking him. The taller male saw red and took a step forwards.

 

“Ooh, did I strike a nerve? Did I hit the nail a little too hard on the head about your friend’s bruises?” Travis mocked as he stood from his seat. Larry’s jaw clenched as the other walked up to him and held out a small slip of paper to him. When the brunet didn’t take it, Travis stuffed it into the pocket of the shirt Larry chose to wore that day. “Maybe not for the other faggot, but there’s still hope for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I’ll have the next chapter out by the end of tomorrow. If not, I apologize now. As always, I’d love to hear your opinions/criticism of the story so far!


	6. Studying Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t think I was going to get it done, but here it is! It’s a bit shorter than I would’ve liked, but I’m just relieved that I actually finished it on time.

Larry’s hands were curled around the leather bound book that had turned up in his room a couple days ago as he sat cross legged on his bed. He still held the journal unopened, afraid that taking another peek in would just continue to wreck his life. His fingers began to drum on the cover as he weighed the options in his head.

 

Him and Sal weren’t on talking terms. After lunch, he hadn’t been able to spot his friend. Ash had texted him after the school day ended, explaining that the male had gone home early. Larry had debated going to Sal’s apartment but decided against it. He seriously doubted that he’d be welcome after the way he had spoken to the other.

 

Instead, he had sulked to his apartment where he finally looked at the piece of paper that Travis had given him. All that was written on it was a phone number, most likely the blond’s. Larry had rolled his eyes and flicked the note into his trash bin. 

 

His fingers drummed on the book harder, and the brunet let out a sigh. He hated everything that was happening. He hated that he and Sal were fighting and that he couldn’t talk to the other. He hated the disappointed glances that Todd threw him when they had classes together. He hated himself for lashing out at Sal when the male had done nothing wrong. 

 

He just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been.

 

He finally cracked the book open and flipped to a random page. He chewed on his bottom lip as his stomach churned, disbelieving that he was going back to the thing that started this whole mess. Despite the growing apprehension, he began to read the first entry on the page. It was dated only half a year back.

 

_ Well Addison Apartments, you’ve won. You have bested me. I’m done with this shit.  _

 

_ As much as the gang loves to explore all this cult shit going on, they don’t understand how dangerous this actually is. And, I don’t know how, but I know this cult has something to do with me. Whatever’s going on here is bigger than we can handle.  _

 

_ I'm sick and tired of continually putting their lives at risk because of me, so I need to take ‘me’ out of the equation. _

 

That’s where the passage ended. Larry bit on his lip harder, not liking the sound of that last line. He immediately began to read the next passage, dated the day after.

 

_ Larry fucking Johnson _ .

 

_ I hate you, you selfish prick. What if I hadn’t gotten  there in time? And what kind of maniac calls their friend to tell them their intentions before going through with it? That’s what a suicide note’s for, you dumbass. _

 

Tear stains wrinkled the remaining lines.

 

_ And what was even the fucking motive? You always complain about me not being open, and not once, had you ever told anyone you were feeling this bad. _

 

_ Lisa’s sick with grief over this and keeps telling me how grateful she is that I got there. I can’t do the same to her. She’d be devastated. And obviously, I can’t leave you either yet. There’s no point in me offing myself to try and protect you if you’ll just kill yourself afterwards. _

 

Larry slowly blinked, trying to process what he had just read. His brain felt sluggish as the ink filled page stared back up at him. He wrinkled his brows together.

 

Sal was going to kill himself.

 

No, that couldn’t possibly be right. Larry reread the passage. He didn’t realize he had started crying until the tears rolled off of his cheeks and onto the book below him. His vision grew blurry from the tears, and the ink below him grew smudged. He sniffed and wiped the back of his hand across his face, trying to placate his crying before it turned into actual sobbing.

 

He didn’t notice that he had dropped the book to the ground, or that he had left his apartment. It only clicked into Larry’s brain what he was doing until after he had ridden the elevator up and was outside of Sal’s apartment door. His hand was hovered over the door in a fist, ready to knock. However, as he remembered their current situation, he hesitated. He rested his forehead against the door instead and let out a shaky breath.

 

Less than a year ago, his best friend had wanted to take his life, and he had been none the wiser.

 

Larry knew he was a hypocrite in every essence of the word. He knew he had no right to be worried about the other after everything he had said to him, and he knew he had no right to be aggravated about Sal not opening up to him when he had tried the same thing. However, the brunet was both of those those things as he stood outside the door. Still, he couldn’t dare open it.

 

Luckily, Sal opened it up for him. The shorter male was startled to say the least as he swung the door open. His blue hair was tied back in a ponytail and he had a black jacket on, obviously headed out somewhere. Larry started dumbly at him, and Sal stared back through his prosthetic. “What the fuck Johnson?”

 

“I,” he stumbled over himself, not knowing what to say, “didn’t know you were going to be coming out.”

 

Sal looked down both ends of the hallway before back at Larry. “So was the plan to just stand and sulk at my door then?”

 

“There wasn’t a plan,” Larry admitted. One of his hands went to rest on the back of his neck as a tension settled in the air.

 

“Obviously,” Sal huffed out. The shorter male waited a second, but Larry never replied. “So why are you here?”

 

“To say I’m sorry,” Larry sighed out. The hand on the back of his neck tightened its grip. Sal crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“For what part?”

 

“For all of it,” the brunet began. “I’ve been a real dick. I shouldn’t have used you that night, and I don’t know why I was such a bitch at school. I’m sorry for all of that.” 

 

Sal tilted his head as if in contemplation. Larry grew nervous at the seconds started to tick by. “Okay,” the other finally replied.

 

The brunet looked at him in confusion. “Okay?”

 

“Okay,” Sal echoed back, nodding to himself. “We were just stupid hormonal teenagers yesterday and even stupider today.”

 

“Yeah,” Larry agreed. The brunet was unnerved by the short response from the other. It was uncharacteristic from his friend.

 

“But Larry, you were wrong that night. I know you’re not gay, and I’m not gay either,” Sal started as he took his phone out of his coat pocket. He began to swipe through it as he talked to the taller male. “And I’m kind of offended that you suggested I was going to confess my undying love for you.”

 

The blue-haired male put away his phone and leaned against the doorframe. Larry’s phone suddenly chimed from his back pocket, signaling he had received a text message. He hesitantly pulled it out and unlocked the device, confusion clear on his face as he noted it was from Sal. The other simply waited as Larry opened the message. The brunet’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“I just wanted to know if we were on the same page Lar Bear,” Sal sneered, sarcasm exuding from his voice. “It’s not gay, like you said. It’s just helping a bro in need out.”

 

On Larry’s phone was a picture of Sal. The male was posed in front of a full body mirror in his apartment bathroom. The only thing he was wearing was his prosthetic which one hand had pushed up to expose his lips twisted into a shit-eating grin. Larry’s eyes trailed down his friend’s body in the picture and stopped where Sal’s half-hard cock had been pressed against his thigh. In the steam of the mirror, the phrase ‘fwb?” had been traced out. The brunet swallowed hard and looked back up at Sal. “F-w-b?” He unintelligently questioned.

 

“Friends with benefits,” Sal stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Are we on the same page?” He mocked.

 

Larry’s response came before he had time to reason it out, and he instantly regretted the one word that left his mouth. “Yes.”

 

He had been right. He never should’ve reopened that damned diary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I need to write at least a part of a chapter focusing on Sal, so we can see what’s going through his head. At the same time, I also like keeping yawll in the dark.
> 
> Also, join this discord if ya want, so we can all be friends and chat about this cursed game:  
> https://discord.gg/V9skBQw
> 
> Friendly reminder that criticism is also welcome on this story


	7. Planning Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I’d like to say I hate writing smut.
> 
> The next update probably won’t be up until the weekend because exam week is coming up, and I need to study.

Despite everything that had happened, Larry had a normal week. He went to school for the rest of the school week, and Sal talked to him like nothing had ever happened. Todd questioned the brunet in private how he had resolved the issue, and Larry had shrugged his shoulders. Travis pestered him a few more times which the male had just brushed off. Before he knew it, the weekend had come and gone. Sal has spent the night and they goofed off like they had before Larry opened this can of worms. Sure, Larry found it weird how quickly everything was fixed, but he wasn’t going to question it.

 

Now, the brunet was laid content in his bed. It was a Monday afternoon, and he had just finished jamming to Sanity’s Fall. His arms were stretched above his head, making his shirt ride up just a little bit, as he let out a yawn. His eyes slowly crept closed, and he felt like he’d finally be able to sleep for once. However, it was in that moment, that the walkie talkie crackled to life. Larry let out a grunt and rolled over on his side to grab the device.

 

“Sally Face?” He questioned after a minute when no words came through. His eyes began to droop shut as no response came. He waited a few seconds and was about to give up when what could only be a moan came through. Larry was suddenly wide awake. “Sal?”

 

“Check your phone,” Sal breathed out, causing Larry to flinch. With trepidation, he leaned over to grab his phone and quickly opened his messages. There was one new notification from his friend, and he tapped it open. He really shouldn’t have been surprised by the image that greeted him.  After all, all good things had to come to an end at some point.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Larry muttered, staring at his phone. His voice was low, but Sal still heard him. The blue-haired male let out a short laugh.

 

“I’m doing that right now y’know,” Sal slurred. “Jacking off to your voice.”

 

Larry squinted his eyes shut, but the photo was burned into his mind. This time, Sal had been laying on his bed, hard cock in his hand. It wasn’t as artistic of a shot as the other one, but it still left the brunet reeling. He tried to calm down, but hearing Sal’s little mewls through the walkie talkie wasn’t helping his situation. 

 

“Are you hard Lar Bear?” Larry hated that nickname but didn’t get time to put in his two cents before the other was talking again. “Take off your pants.”

 

The brunet hesitated at that despite his half hard dick being painfully confined in his tight trousers. When no sound of clothes rustling came from Larry’s end, Sal’s voice dropped to a low growl. “Come on Daddy, take them off.”

 

And suddenly, the jeans were discarded on the floor. He was left in his boxers and an embarrassed blush. “Sal-“

 

“Shhh,” Sal coaxed. “I’ll be the one doing the talking tonight, just do what I say.”

 

Larry nodded and then felt like an idiot when he realized the other couldn’t actually see him. “Yeah, sure,” he agreed with a little reluctance.

 

“Send me a picture of your cock straining against your boxers. I want to see how hard you are for me Daddy,” Sal instructed. Larry had set the walkie talkie down on the side of his bed, so he could still hear the other but have full use of his hands. He picked his phone up again and quickly snapped a pic, knowing that if he took longer than needed, he’d lose his nerve. He waited in anticipation until he heard Sal’s phone chime. “Fuck,” the other muttered.

 

“I want you to palm yourself through your boxers” Sal ordered. Larry lowered his hand to grip himself through the fabric and let out a low hiss. He hadn’t realized how horny he had already become. “Slowly Larry. If you cum too early, I won’t be happy.”

 

The brunet began to stroke himself through the piece of clothing, quickly becoming annoyed at the barrier. The dulled sensation just made him harder without promising relief. He tried to set a slow pace but soon felt himself stroking faster as precum soaked through his boxers. “Sal, please,” he groaned out.

 

“Stop touching yourself.” Larry let out a whine, something he’d be embarrassed about later, as he let go of his dick. His cock twitched, begging for the friction to come back. It didn’t help that he could hear the slick sounds of Sal jacking himself off through the line. “You won’t beg to cum until I tell you too. Understand?”

 

Larry let out a small noise of agreement, too aroused to come up with a coherent answer. His friend understood nonetheless. “Good, then go ahead and take your boxers off.”

 

The garment was kicked off of his legs in record time, and he waited impatiently for Sal to speak again. “You can go back to jacking off, but you’re not hitting your orgasm before I tell you that you can,” the other teased.

 

Larry let out a low moan as he began to pump his member. Precum drooled from his tip, and he knew that he wasn’t going to last long. Sal certainly wasn’t helping him last either with his snide remarks, asking Larry to imagine that he was between his legs sucking him off.

 

“Sal, I can’t,” the taller male choked out as his hips began to thrust up frantically into his hand. 

 

“Then beg for me to let you cum Daddy,” Sal all but growled through the radio. Larry flushed hard, pride preventing him from begging.

 

“I can’t-“

 

“Then have fun not finishing,” Sal grunted, his own pants becoming heavier through the line. “I will hang up and leave you alone.”

 

That scared Larry just enough for him to mutter out the bare minimum. “Please Sally, I need to cum,” he whined.

 

He heard Sal let out a loud moan before answering him. The brunet figured his friend had probably hit his orgasm. A few moments dragged by, and Larry was scared that he wouldn’t answer him. Finally though, the response came as Sal caught his breath. “Go ahead and cum for me.”

 

Larry only had to take a few more strokes before he choked up as his climax hit him. His hand kept pumping himself as he spurted cum onto his stomach. As he finished, he mentally noted that he needed to stop wearing shirts while doing this. 

 

“Good night Larry Face,” Sal said before he hung up on his line.

 

Before Larry could even get up to grab a tissue to clean himself, his phone dinged. He picked it up to see that his friend had sent him yet another image. This time it was just of Sal’s cum painted across his bare stomach. A message was sent almost immediately following the image from Sal.

 

_ Glad to know you have a daddy kink _

 

Larry grunted at that, not liking that he could practically hear the other’s smugness through the message.

 

_ Stfu _

 

It wasn’t even two seconds before the reply from Sal came through.

 

_ Make me daddy _

 

Larry all but chucked his phone across the room. He cringed as he heard it clatter against a piece of furniture before falling to the carpet. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Unfortunately, he had to clean up his shame before he could do so. With a sigh, the brunet got up on his feet to get ready for the night.

 

When the next morning came, Larry was already wide awake. He had managed to get some sleep, but his thoughts about Sal kept him up for a good part of the night. He was confused as to why the other was suddenly a hormone monster, and he didn’t like it. The events now unfolding were so much worse than when the only inconvenience had been knowing his friend had a crush on him. Not to mention, with the way things were working out, Larry finally had to come to terms with the fact that he might not be as straight as originally planned.

 

When lunch came around, Larry pulled out his phone and ignored the gang at first. He scrolled through his contacts until he came across the one named “Dickhead.” He had put Travis’s number in there just in case if an emergency arised before tossing the paper, but he had never expected to actually use it.

 

_ I need your help. _

 

He typed the message out quick without thinking and instantly wished he hadn’t. He could all but feel the other staring at him from across the cafeteria. After several minutes, the reply came.

 

_ It’s about time you admitted it. _

_ Meet me after school. _

 

Sal’s curious gaze peered over the brunet’s shoulder, but the phone was jerked away from his view. The shorter male looked in surprise at the other. They had grown so close as friends over the years that neither had ever cared about the other going through their phone. Sal had to say that the gesture hurt a bit, but it wasn’t unexpected with how the past week had gone. Larry had been a source of a lot of his pain as of late.

 

“Got something to hide Larry?” The question was supposed to be light and teasing, but his voice fell flat. The brunet shook his head in answer before pocketing the phone, not picking up on Sal’s disheartened mood. 

 

“No, just a text from Lisa,” the other muttered. The shorter male glared at his friend from behind his prosthetic, too smart to even entertain the idea that Larry was telling the truth. No one else noticed however, and the other three soon became caught up in mundane conversation.

 

Sal stabbed his fork at his food, his emotions too askew to have an appetite. He watched as his peas rolled uselessly around on his tray. He hated how their friendship was crumbling to pieces in front of his eyes, and the male blamed himself. He had tarnished their relationship by growing smitten with the other.

 

However, he equally blamed the brunet. He still hated Larry for groping him to orgasm that night and then acting like nothing happened. He hated him even more for not really owning up to his actions. He didn’t know what was going through Larry’s mind for the past week, but it made his heart hurt. 

 

In a last ditch effort to keep the other around, Sal had proposed the idea of being friends with benefits. He wanted Larry to fuck the sad out of him, but the new relationship left an all new bitterness in Sal’s mouth. As much as he wanted the brunet to use him until he hurt all over, he also wanted Larry to just want him. He wanted Larry to be as smitten with him as he was with the brunet even if a relationship between them could never work out. Sal let out a sigh at the thought.

 

For now, sex would just have to be a substitute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt weird writing Sal at the end, and I don’t think I’m going to be doing it again. 
> 
> Thanks for all of the positive comments btw. Yawll really help motivate me.


	8. Fixing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travis might be a lil ooc  
> As always, thank you for all the love!  
> The next update should be up by the end of tomorrow.

Travis had a giant smirk that Larry wanted to punch off of his face, but the brunet steeled himself as he walked across the school’s parking lot towards the blond. His hood was over his head, and he made eye contact with the ground, praying that no one from the gang would see him. As he got closer to Travis, he could hear the other laughing.

 

“You’re really acting like this is a secret mission,” the blond snorted between his laughing fits. Larry’s lips were pressed tight together, and he glared daggers at the other. One hand went up to grab at his hood as a particularly forceful gust of wind almost knocked it down. The action just caused Travis to snicker harder. “Okay faggot,” the blond wheezed out, “just get in the car.”

 

Trying his best to ignore the comment, Larry race walked to the passenger side of the beat up, red vehicle as Travis pulled out his keys and unlocked the doors. The brunet let out a sigh of relief as he crawled in, thankful for some sort of cover. He really didn’t know how he would explain this situation if Sal caught him. The sound of Travis sitting down and the other car door closing broke Larry out of his thoughts. He pulled off his hood with one hand as the other tapped anxiously against his knee.

 

“Where are we going?” Travis grinned at the question as he put his keys into the ignition and started the car. He didn’t answer at first, too busy looking in his rear view mirror as he tried to pull out of the parking space without hitting a student. 

 

“My house,” the blond replied. Larry’s hand started tapping on his leg faster as they pulled completely out of the school. He didn’t like being in a car completely alone with Travis. Hell, he didn’t like being less than five hundred feet away from the bully. “You look like you think I’m going to murder you.”

 

The brunet stared out of the window, not wanting to face the other. He observed as small shops dwindled out and a mirage of greenery took their place. “I don’t like you,” he finally huffed out.

 

“I know you don’t,” the other responded back. “You like Sal.” Travis’s eyes met Larry’s as the brunet whipped his head around to glare at him. Neither said a word, and a tense silence quickly grew between them. “We’re going to get nowhere with this if you can’t admit that.”

 

“Look, I don’t like him,” Larry snapped back, voice growing louder. “He just gets under my skin.” The brunet slumped into the seat, face red from embarrassment and anger.

 

“What do you mean by that?” Travis asked, turning his attention back to the road. His fingers had started to drum against the steering wheel, and the sound annoyed Larry.

 

“Most times when I see him now, I want to- I want,” Larry stuttered, as his brain moved faster than his lips. Travis was patient and waited for the brunet to collect himself. Larry let out a long exhale before trying again. “I want to fuck him.”

 

Travis’s fingers drummed harder against the steering wheel at that. Larry wasn’t sure if it was because he was thinking of what to say or something else, but the louder tapping annoyed him further. “Stop it,” The brunet all but growled as he shot a hand out to stop the blond’s fingers from moving. 

 

At the touch, Travis jerked away. Both of them let out an undignified cry as the car swerved into the other lane. Thankfully, traffic was light, and the blond was able to maneuver the vehicle back into the right lane without crashing. Larry had all but melted into the seat, panicked by the near death experience. Travis cleared his throat to calm himself before speaking. “Premarital sex is a sin,” the blond stated.

 

Larry raised an eyebrow and snickered. “That was your chance to say something offensive about how being gay is a sin dude.”

 

Something flashed in Travis’s eyes at the remark, but the emotion was gone almost as fast as it came. The blond’s lips were now pursed. “All sins are equal Larry,” he explained, “being gay is just as bad as having intercourse before saying your vows.”

 

Larry wrinkled his nose at the phrasing of that. “Please, for the love of God, never say intercourse again,” he pleaded, causing Travis to let out a huff of annoyance.

 

“Don’t say the Lord’s name in vain,” he lectured. This time it was Larry’s turn to groan from exasperation.

 

“This is going to be a long night,” he pouted. Travis nodded his agreement, and the rest of the car ride was left in a not-completely-unpleasant silence.

 

Larry had fallen asleep at some point during the ride, but the sound of tires crunching against gravel woke him up. He blinked tiredly and ran the back of his hand against his mouth to wipe off the little bit of drool that was there. “Where are we?” He asked, his sleepy eyes searching the landscape before landing on a well kept home.

 

“My house,” Travis said as he parked the car and pulled the keys out. Larry took a moment to stretch before getting out and meeting the other who was already at the front door. “My parents aren’t home tonight, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

 

Larry nodded and waited for Travis to unlock the door. When they were both finally in, he asked the question that he probably should’ve asked from the beginning. “So what exactly is the game plan here?”

 

Travis kicked his shoes off by the door and threw his keys onto a table by the entrance. He shimmied out of his purple jacket as he answered Larry. “We’re going to have a bible study.”

 

“No, no we’re not,” the brunet deadpanned. He crossed his arms over his chest as Travis looked over at him.

 

“No?” The blond questioned back.

 

“You said you could help me get over Sal, not perform religious shit with me,” Larry stated, shaking his head.

 

“I can help you, through God,” Travis explained, causing Larry to let out a dry laugh. If he hadn’t been so desperate to set his friendship back with Sal like it had been in the past, he would’ve walked out of the door right then and there.

 

“Fine dude,” he snickered. “This is bullshit but fine.” Travis smiled sincerely at that, the usual hint of arrogance not there. It unnerved Larry.

 

“Have a seat while I go get my bible,” Travis said, waving a hand at his dining table as he walked off into another room. Larry padded across the hardwood floor, looking around the room for the first time. Decorative crosses were littered against the walls, and a few family photos sat on a shelf. Intrigued, he went over to the shelf.

 

The photos ranged in sizes, but they all contained the same three people: Travis, a blond woman who Larry supposed was his mom, and a burly man who was probably his dad. The man’s eyes stared the camera down, devoid of any emotion. Larry shivered and went to take a seat right as Travis entered the room again. The brunet didn’t say anything as the other took the seat beside him, flipping through a Bible. Verses strewn throughout the pages were highlighted and post it notes bookmarked random pages. When he finally found the passage he was looking for, he met Larry’s eyes and started animatedly reading.

 

The brunet had really tried to pay attention, but by the first ten minutes, he deemed it was useless. Larry wasn’t religious, never believed in any form of an all knowing being, and concluded that he had wasted his time with Travis. However, he sat through it all. His eyes were beginning to droop, and he could feel himself about to doze off as minutes grew into hours.

 

“Are you ready Larry?” Travis closed the Bible with a resounding thud, and Larry jumped. He barely processed the question before answering.

 

“Yeah,” he murmured, sleep still clinging onto him. Travis clasped his hands and went to bow his head but saw the brunet wasn’t following along.

 

“Okay, when you pray, at least when I do, you’re going to put your hands together, and close your eyes,” Travis explained. “I’m guessing you haven’t done this before, so I’ll lead the prayer this time. Just follow along.”

 

Larry nodded before clasping his hands and closing his eyes. He immediately zoned out as Travis began to speak, preferring to go back to sleep again. Because of this, he didn’t notice when the words had stopped or how a hand was placed at his cheek. He didn’t notice what was going on until he felt the other’s lips pressed against his own.

 

“What the fuck-“ Larry jerked back as his eyes snapped open. He stared at the blond, demanding explanation, but Travis fell quiet. “I knew this was bullshit. I knew you were fucking around with me-“

 

“I thought it’d be like kissing him,” Travis murmured out as he buried his head in his hands. It took Larry a few moments to catch what he said.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“I thought if I kissed you,” Travis sniffed. He looked up at Larry who cringed when he saw the other was on the verge of tears. “That it’d be like kissing Sal.”

 

Larry didn’t know what to say at that. His eyes darted around the room, confusion settling in. “Are you- are you gay?”

 

Travis didn’t answer, and Larry shifted in his seat to face the blond. His stomach churned at the request that came out of his mouth. “Kiss me again.”

 

“What?” Travis muttered out. His face was red, but no tears came out yet. Larry wondered how the boy was so good at controlling his crying.

 

“I smoke a pack a day, my lips are always chapped, and my large ass nose is going to bump against you awkwardly. If anyone’s going to turn you straight, it’s going to be me,” Larry stated, already leaning closer to the other. Travis hesitated before leaning in again.

 

The kiss was nothing special. It felt awkward and gross to Larry as he rested a hand on the blond’s waist. Travis’s hands had made their way to Larry’s brown hair and tangled themselves in the long locks. It wasn’t the worse thing, but it certainly wasn’t Sal.

 

Fuck, it wasn’t Sal.

 

Larry got more into the make out session as he imagined his friend was in front of him, not Travis. He imagined the blush that would cover Sal’s face as he’d bite his lower lip and pin him back against the wall again. He imagined how the shorter male would mewl for him as he’d pound him into the wall, knocking a few posters down in the process.

 

The phone in Larry’s pocket rang, breaking him out of his thoughts. Both boys jumped apart at the sound, refusing to meet eye contact with the other. The brunet busied himself with pulling his phone out to see who was calling. He grimaced as he realized it was from Sal.

 

“What’s up?” He asked as he answered the call. Sobs responded back to him. 

 

“Nightmare,” Sal choked out. Larry checked the time, not realizing how late it had gotten.

 

“Okay, Okay Sal, I’ll be right there,” he reassured, standing up from his seat. “I’m not at the complex, but I’m heading there now.” His friend got out an “ok” in his hysteria, and Larry ended the call. 

 

“Travis, I need you to drive me to the apartments right now.” The blond nodded his head, chewing on his bottom lip.

 

Travis must have sensed Larry’s urgency because he went well past the speed limit on the ride to the apartments. Once they had gotten there, the brunet had all but jumped out of the car and dashed into the complex. He had flown up the stairs, deciding the elevator would take too long. When he had finally reached Sal’s apartment, his friend was sat on the bathroom floor.

 

The first thing he noticed was that the prosthetic lay discarded to the side, uncharacteristic of his friend. The second thing he noticed was the blood smeared on a small part of the linoleum floor.

 

“Fuck Sal.” Larry kneeled in front of his crying friend. Sal’s fingers gripped his face tight. The ends of the nails were covered in blood from where he had been scratching at the scars on his face.

 

“I want to die Larry,” Sal wheezed out. At the end of his statement, a sob choked him. “They just get worse and worse,” he spat out.

 

Larry gingerly cradled Sal’s hands in his own, pulling them away from his friend. He had hurt himself pretty bad, but it was nothing that would require stitches. They’d be healed in a couple of weeks. “You’ve gotten through this before, and you’re going to get through this again tonight,” Larry soothed.

 

“I’m going to hurt you Larry. I’m going to hurt you. I’m going to hurt everyone,” Sal cried. His hands began to shake in Larry’s grip, and the brunet rubbed circles into the back of them with his thumbs.

 

“No, you’re not. What you see doesn’t define who you are Sal,” Larry whispered to his friend. Sal sat and cried for a few minutes before he was able to speak again.

 

“I love you,” he gasped out. “I love you, and I’m going to tear you to shreds.”

 

“Sal-“

 

“I’m in love with you,” Sal whined, slumping forwards as another sob wracked his body. Larry moved forwards, so he could pull his friend into a makeshift hug. He felt Sal’s body dry heave against his.

 

“You’re going to be okay,” Larry soothed once more. A chuckle, lacking any true emotion, escaped Sal before he dry heaved again.

 

“I’m in love with you Larry Johnson,” he laughed. “I love you so much that I can’t stand to be alive.” Sal’s body jerked up, and his head slammed against the bathroom counter. “Please, let me die before I kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d love to hear your thoughts and criticism!!!
> 
> Also, join my SF discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/V9skBQw


	9. Explaining Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yawll make me so happy tbh

It had been a long night for Larry and Sal both. It had taken a little over two hours for the brunet to calm the other down enough to where he could walk him to his bedroom. Even then, Sal had still been a mess. The shorter male had begged for Larry to not leave him alone that night, and the brunet felt too guilty to do otherwise.

 

Sunlight danced against Larry’s skin, and he let out a small groan as he raised a hand to rub his eyes open. His hair was an absolute disaster from how much he had tossed and turned once he finally fell asleep by Sal. After he blinked his eyes open, he stretched his arms out to the side. Feeling that the other wasn’t still asleep in the bed, he sat up. He looked around the bedroom, but the other wasn’t anywhere to be seen. With a huff, Larry got onto his feet and made his way out of the room.

 

The first thing he noticed was the scent of coffee. Larry quirked an eyebrow up and walked to the kitchen. His arms were crossed against his chest, and he shivered as his bare feet hit the cold tile of the kitchen.

 

“You look freezing,” Sal remarked from where he was leaned against a counter. One hand was on his hip while the other laid on the countertop as he waited for the coffee to brew. Larry rubbed his hands against his own arms.

 

“I thought you hated coffee,” he questioned. Sal rolled his good eye at him from beneath his prosthetic.

 

“I do,” he agreed. “It’s for you.” Larry hummed and nodded his head in understanding as Sal turned towards the counter. The other stood on his tiptoes and reached up to open a cabinet. From its confines, he pulled down one mug. The cup was chipped at the top, and Larry mentally noted to drink from the unbroken side. “We need to talk about last night.”

 

“We do?” Larry rocked back onto the heels of his feet as he did his best to act nonchalant. He had been comfortable just pretending that Sal hadn’t confessed his undying love for him. However, his friend nodded as he placed the mug in the dispenser. With a hiss, the coffee maker started to drizzle the liquid into the cup. A puft of steam made itself visible as the hot drink came in contact with the crisp air. Larry shivered.

 

“My nightmares make me act weirdly,” Sal started. Larry nodded in agreement. “I do love you dude, but I only love you as a friend.”

 

“I know,” Larry lied. His eyes were concentrated on watching the cup fill with coffee, not daring to look up at Sal. “And I love you as a friend too bro.”

 

Sal didn’t say anything for a moment. The shorter male waited for the coffee machine to finish and handed the cup to the brunet. Larry was thankful to have something warm against his hands. He grimaced though as he took a sip and felt the liquid scorch his tongue. “But I do really want you to fuck me,” Sal stated.

 

Larry started to cough as he choked on his drink at the statement. Sal laughed as the taller male set the drink down as to not spill it while he wheezed. “Where did that come from?”

 

“I’ve just been thinking about it a lot,” his friend said. He moved Larry’s cup to the side, so he could hop up and sit on the edge of the counter. One of his hands reached out to grab onto the brunet’s shirt to drag him so that he was standing right in front of Sal. Sal’s legs wrapped themselves around Larry’s waist as he directed one of the other’s hands to rest on his hip. “You could take me just like this. You could fuck me so hard that we crack the counter.”

 

Larry’s still half asleep mind moved sluggish. “Um,” he got out as he felt his face heat up.

 

Sal propped himself up by putting a hand behind him on the counter, and his other hand traveled to grab a fistful of Larry’s hair. His legs wrapped tighter against the taller male, forcing them closer. “I’d beg for you to wreck me Daddy,” Sal teased. “However, Ash and Todd will be over here at any minute.”

 

Larry stood stunned as Sal let go of him and hopped off the counter. It took him a couple minutes to process what just happened. When his brain caught up with what had just transpired, Larry cleared his throat and grabbed his coffee. He felt his friend staring at him from across the kitchen as he took a sip.

 

“Why are Ash and Todd coming over?” He chose to ask. Sal shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Ash texted me earlier, saying the gang was overdue for a movie day,” he explained. Larry took another sip of his coffee and watched as Sal absentmindedly shifted his weight from foot to foot.

 

“I’m sure you’d like that though,” the brunet vaguely interjected. Sal looked at him, tilting his head in confusion. 

 

“Like what?” Larry smirked over the brim of his mug.

 

“Having me fuck you while they’re here. I’m sure you’d get off to knowing they could hear you moan my name out,” the brunet teased. Sal stiffened, shock overtaking him. Larry wasn’t supposed to be the confident, controlled one.

 

“Put your money where your mouth is,” Sal growled, stalking over to Larry. The brunet once again set his mug down, so he could grab Sal’s hair once he was close enough. The shorter male whimpered as Larry pulled him down by his hair.

 

“Don’t tell Daddy what to fucking do,” Larry hissed against the other’s ear. Sal looked like he was about to retort, but the sound of the apartment door being opened silenced him. Both boys immediately flung apart as Ash and Todd walked in. Larry drank from his cup as Sal left the kitchen to greet them. Once the brunet had calmed down enough, he followed suit.

 

“Oh, hi Larry!” Ash greeted as he made his way into the living room. Sal and Todd were already sat on the couch while the girl inserted the movie they were watching into the DVD player. The brunet muttered out a greeting before taking a seat between Sal and the edge of the green sofa. When Ash sat down on the other end, the shorter male got up and excused himself for a second. Larry watched him quizzically as he left the room.

 

“What movie are we watching?” The brunet asked. That caused Todd to groan and Ash to clap her hands in excitement.

 

“Some rom com that Ash dug up,” the red head sighed, already looking bored out of his mind. That caused the girl to fake pout.

 

“Come on, you know you’re going to love it,” she teased. While the two got into a playful argument over their tastes in movies, Sal returned with an oversized blanket in hand. He plopped down back on the couch beside Larry and covered both of them up with it.

 

“You were cold earlier,” the shorter male explained when Larry threw him a questioning glance.

 

The movie started out like most movies did for the gang. Ash was eagerly watching on, Todd had fallen asleep, Larry was staring off into space, and Sal was sliding his hand up the brunet’s inner thigh.

 

Startled, Larry looked over at Sal who just kept his gaze glued to the television. His friend did scooch closer to him however as his hand kept traveling up his leg. The taller male let out a sharp exhale as the other grabbed his dick through his jeans. “Sal,” Larry warned, not daring to speak louder than a whisper.

 

“What?” His friend asked. Larry glared at him, but clamped his mouth shut as Sal stroked him through the rough fabric. Subconsciously, the brunet shifted, spreading his legs. That earned a light laugh from Sal. Larry cringed at the sound, but their other friends were too caught up in their own respective activities to notice what they were doing. 

 

Larry cursed himself as he soon became hard from Sal palming him. It took every ounce of his restraint to not start bucking his hips and give away what was happening. He had already had to disguise his whines as coughs. When he felt Sal go to unbutton his pants, he grabbed the other’s wrist. “Come on, it has to be painfully tight for you,” Sal teased, barely audible.

 

It was, but that didn’t mean Larry was going to let Sal give him a full on handjob in front of his best friends. If they got caught, neither of them would ever live it down. “Bathroom,” he rasped out instead.

 

Sal nodded, and both of them left the couch together. Neither were smart enough to realize how painfully suspicious it looked as they both entered the bathroom together. Larry didn’t speak again until the door was closed and locked behind them. “What the fuck Sal,” he snapped.

 

“Don’t even try to pretend you weren’t into it,” Sal retorted. Larry let out an exasperated groan at the response but paused as the other started to pull his pants down.

 

“What are you doing?” The shorter male tossed the pants to the side but kept his boxers on. He looked at the brunet, grinning under his mask.

 

“I figured you could fuck my thighs,” he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Larry bit  his bottom lip as he started to undo his own pants, only pulling them and his boxers down far enough so that his cock could be free.

 

“I’d rather fuck you,” Larry stated as Sal leaned over the bathroom sink.

 

“Yeah, but we can’t do that right now, so this is second best,” the other retorted. Larry moved behind his friend, guiding Sal so his thighs pressed against his cock. He gave an experimental push of his hips, and let out a moan as his dick slid between the other’s thighs, lubricated by the precum he was already leaking.

 

Sal moved, so he rested on his elbows. His lithe body swayed with every thrust Larry gave, and he’d occasionally press his legs closer to draw out a groan from the male behind him. The shorter male smiled as he watched Larry in the bathroom mirror. He loved the way his nose would scrunch up, and his brows would draw together. He loved the little pants the other gave and how his hair just kept getting messier. He loved Larry Johnson.

 

“Fuck,” the brunet moaned out as he finally hit his orgasm. His cum splattered across Sal’s thighs and onto the floor, but he was too spent to be concerned with that. He backed away as his friend stood up, and he tucked himself back into his boxers before pulling his pants back up. Sal grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped the mess off of himself. Larry just stared at him as he cleaned up and put his own pants back on.

 

“I wonder what the other’s will think,” Sal mused aloud as he looked himself over, making sure there was no evidence left.

 

“Hopefully not much,” Larry responded as he reached over to open the door.

 

“Whatever you say Daddy,” Sal purred before exiting the room. Larry shook his head, knowing damn well that the other would be the death of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part won’t be out until Friday. Until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Also, join my SF discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/V9skBQw


	10. Ruining Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this is late!!!

_ I can’t believe you guys really fucked with us there. _

 

Larry stared at the text from Todd. He had just woken up to get ready for school, and his tired brain wasn’t processing the message. His fingers tapped at the virtual keyboard to respond.

 

_ What are you talking about? _

 

His message was immediately read, and it only took the redhead two seconds to respond.

 

_ I’m not stupid. You and Sal definitely had sex in the bathroom when me and Ash came over. _

 

Larry froze at that. A couple of days had passed since the incident, and neither of their friends had mentioned their escapade. The brunet thought he had gotten off scotch free. 

 

_ I’m not talking about this right now. _

 

Todd sent back a middle finger emoji but didn’t pester him further than that. Larry let out a long sigh before rolling out of his bed. He took a cold shower before putting on a pair of baggy jeans and one of his numerous Sanity’s Fall shirts. After grabbing his book bag, he scarfed down a stale piece of toast for his breakfast and walked out the door.

 

It began to drizzle almost immediately as he started his walk to school. He cursed his luck, knowing he wouldn’t be able to light up a cigarette now. His luck grew even worse as a familiar car pulled up by him. A grimace twisted his lips as the window rolled down.

 

“Do you need a ride?” Travis stared up at him, no malice in the question. Larry noted that a bruise was blooming across the other’s left eye but decided not to ask about it.

 

“We’re not friends,” Larry interjected. The blond didn’t flinch at the cruel response.

 

“We could be,” the other suggested. Travis’s hand gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as Larry didn’t respond at first. The brunet wiped his now wet hair out of his face.

 

“You’ve been a real dick to me and my friends,” he finally replied. Travis glanced away at that. His eyes stared ahead through his windshield as he thought.

 

“I know,” he sighed. 

 

“And you hating yourself for being gay isn’t an excuse-“

 

“Don’t say that!” The blond hissed out. His eyes searched the area as if he was afraid a passing person may have overheard the comment. He relaxed after a moment. “I’m not gay.”

 

“You and me both,” Larry joked, earning a glare from Travis.

 

“Just get in the car,” Travis groaned out, rolling his window back up. Larry hesitated, but a roll of thunder in the distance encouraged him to get in on the passenger side.

 

“I think this is the longest you’ve gone without calling me a fag,” the brunet stated as he climbed in. Travis stared at him as he pulled his seat belt down to buckle in. The blond’s eyes swiftly returned to the road in front of them when Larry threw him a curious glance.

 

“I’m trying to be less of a dick,” he responded, car revving back to life as he began to drive. Larry hummed his appreciation for the statement but didn’t say anything. “Also, I want you to come over again tonight,” the blond added.

 

“No way,” Larry laughed, “I am not sitting through another bible study.”

 

Travis shook his head. “No, I just want to hang out.”

 

The brunet did a double take at that. “We are  _ not  _ friends,” he restated, voice growing offended.

 

“I don’t expect us to be buddies at the moment,” Travis retorted, face heating up in anger. Larry raised an eyebrow. “But I feel we can mutually benefit each other.”

 

“How?” The question was left unanswered for a few minutes. Larry simply sat in silence as they pulled into the school parking lot, and Travis parked the car. They had gotten there pretty earlier, so there weren’t many students milling about. Travis let out a sigh as he pulled the keys out of the ignition before turning to face the brunet.

  
  


Larry didn’t stop Travis from grabbing his shirt and pulling him into a rough kiss, but if anyone had asked, he would’ve swore that he had. Larry’s hands gripped at the blond’s shoulders as the other placed a hand on the back of his head, the other arm jammed awkwardly between their bodies. The brunet grimaced into the kiss as their teeth knocked together obnoxiously but didn’t pull away. It wasn’t until Travis pulled away, eyes frozen looking out Larry’s window did they break apart. The brunet turned to see what had the other spooked and immediately felt his soul leave his body.

 

Ash had pulled up her motorcycle into the space beside them. Her helmet was cradled in her hands, and she locked eyes with Travis then Larry. She looked just as frightened as the duo did.

 

“Shit,” Larry muttered out, hands immediately flying to unbuckle his seatbelt. He felt Travis place a hand on his arm.

 

“She can’t- she can’t tell anyone.” The blond’s voice was pleading, and he looked two seconds away from having a mental breakdown.

 

“Trust me, I don’t want anyone knowing about this either,” Larry muttered, shrugging Travis’s hand off of him.

 

By the time he made it out of the car, Ash already had her bag slung over a shoulder and was race walking away.

 

“Ash!” Larry called out. The girl ducked her head and walked faster. “God damn it,” Larry muttered to himself as he began to run over to her.

 

“I don’t want to talk,” she stated as Larry caught up. The rain started to pour down harder and both of them walked faster to the school.

 

“I can explain-“

 

“How can you explain making out with Travis?” She demanded, eyes searching Larry’s. “I don’t care if you’re gay, but the fact you had your tongue down the throat of the person who’s tormented us for years…” Ash trailed off, shaking her head. Larry didn’t try to defend himself, too panicked that his friend might spill the information to someone else. 

 

“You can’t tell anyone,” he said as they finally made it to the school’s front entrance. Both of them stepped inside and wiped their feet on the doormat. 

 

“I’ll do what I want,” Ash snipped.

 

“Ash,” Larry whined, growing desperate. She walked away, and the brunet stared at her back. He felt like crying. If she told one person, his life would become a lot more unbearable.

 

By the time lunch had rolled around and Larry had seated himself at the gang’s normal table, a sense of trepidation filled him. The girl in front of him refused to look up at him, still simmering about what she witnessed that morning. Todd threw him a few glances, something obviously on his mind. Larry assumed that it was about his and Sal’s bathroom rendezvous, so he didn’t ask the other what was wrong. Sal seemed oblivious to the apparent tension and tried to create a conversation with the three of them.

 

The redhead was the first to question Larry. “Why were you with Travis?”

 

Larry immediately glared at Ash. She shook her head at him and shrugged her shoulders, trying to silently communicate that she hadn’t said anything. The brunet wouldn’t have believed her even if he had understood what she was trying to say. “Oh,” Larry started awkwardly. “He just gave me a ride this morning, so I wouldn’t have to walk in the rain.”

 

“What?” Confusion rang clear in Todd’s voice. All three friends looked at Larry. “You were with him this morning?”

 

“Isn’t that what you just asked about?” He chuckled at the end of the question, growing increasingly nervous with all of the attention that was on him. 

 

“No, no, no,” Todd corrected, waving a hand dismissively. “I was asking about the other day when you met him after school.”

 

Ash stared him down harder, and Larry slumped in his seat. “You’ve been meeting up with Travis?” Sal asked. Hurt was clear in his voice and rightfully so. His friend had been the main target of the bully.

 

As if God himself wanted to shatter Larry’s life to little pieces, he felt the seat to his left being taken. He glanced over to see Travis. The brunet glared at him, urging him to leave.

 

“I couldn’t help but to overhear the conversation,” the blond started. 

 

“No one cares Travis,” Todd sighed out. 

 

“It seemed like you guys cared about me two seconds ago,” he deadpanned. Travis placed a hand onto Larry’s shoulder, and the brunet flinched. “Larry agreed to have a bible study with me the other night.”

 

The mentioned male buried his face in his hands, wishing he was anywhere else as a chorus of questions rang out. “Larry isn’t religious,” Sal argued back.

 

Larry looked back up, and Travis raised a brow and glanced at him. Larry looked from him to the rest of the gang. “I might not be fully heterosexual, and I thought I could pray the gay away,” he admitted.

 

It seemed that order was temporarily restored. Todd wheezed, trying but ultimately failing to stop his laughter. Sal soon joined in with the redhead. Sure, they weren’t happy Larry had gone to the person they despised the most, but the reason was so absurd. The brunet thought he might escape the situation mostly unscathed until his eyes met Ash’s. She was absolutely smoldering.

 

_ Don’t say it. _

 

“Oh yeah, it looked like that’s what you two were doing,” she started.

 

_ Ash, don’t do it. _

 

“Were you still praying when both of you were making out in Travis’s car this morning?” Ash finished.

 

_ There it is. _

 

The lunch table fell silent, prior amusement forgotten. “Ash,” Larry tried.

 

“I’m sorry. I can’t let go of the fact that you were snogging with the person that’s made our life a living hell since day one,” she snapped. 

 

The brunette grabbed her stuff and walked off. Larry watched her, trying to ignore the stares from Todd and Sal. Travis was sat frozen now.

 

“Wait, is that true?” Todd asked. Before Larry could answer, Travis interjected.

 

“I’m not gay,” he said desperately.

 

“Oh my god,” Todd murmured out. “It is true. You hooked up with Travis.”

 

The shuffling sound of Sal rising to his feet directed Larry’s attention to him. The boy didn’t speak as he left, and Larry knew he had fucked up bad this time.

 

He didn’t know, however, why Sal’s own apparent hurt made his chest hurt so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can prolly tell it’s rushed at the end, but I’d still love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Join my SF discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/V9skBQw


	11. Repairing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start this thing off, I’d like to shout out some grade-A Salarry fics that deserve all of the love in the world.
> 
> 302 Belvedere Street - Domestic Salarry w/ a writing style that is to die for. Need I say more?
> 
> eat your heart out - Zombie apocalypse au that’s based off of Warm Bodies, probably my personal fav on this list
> 
> Fire Breather - This one is super well written and has an amazing sense of humor. 10/10, would recommend.
> 
> Mini Me - Sal finds a random mini Lar and they go on cute ass adventures. This one’s written by PrinceAcidKitten, and they’re my fav Salarry author on this website. I highly encourage checking out their other fics too.
> 
> We Don’t Have To Dance - (everyone probably already knows of this one but) Beware, this is heavy in angst and will make you want to die, but is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. If you don’t mind crying a lil, I’d check this bad boi out.

The sweet smell of confectioners sugar lingered in the air as the joyous laughter of Ash and Todd filled the small kitchen. Dirty bowls littered the countertops, a cracked egg laid on the floor, and a portion of the wall had cake batter smeared across it. Alone, either of the two could bake perfectly fine, but when they were together, havoc always found a place among them.

 

“What exactly should I pipe onto it? Sorry for outing you to all of my friends?” Ashley was busying herself scooping frosting into a piping bag. The vanilla cake layers had come out of the oven a while ago, and they had finally cooled off enough to be iced. Todd snorted and shook his head.

 

“No, I feel like that would just worsen the situation. How about just ‘sorry?’” The redhead suggested. The girl let out a small ‘hmph’ as she finished filling the piping bag.

 

“Isn’t that super vague though?” Todd tossed the question around in his head as he tried shimmying the cake layers out of their round pans. After a few seconds, Ash realized his struggle and let out a light laugh. “Here, I’ll do it,” she reassured and handed him the piping bag.

 

“I feel like it needs to be vague. If it even mentions homosexuality, Travis is going to turn tail and flee,” the male explained as he watched his friend. Ash turned the pan over and gave the bottom an obnoxious slap. The cake fell out onto the cooling trays. “How?”

 

“You just gotta spank it until it comes,” the brunette stated, winking at Todd.

 

“God damn it Ash,” the redhead grumbled. He handed Ashley the piping bag back, so she could glue the layers together. She worked diligently, having all three layers stacked in record time. Todd leaned against a counter as he watched her. He enjoyed mixing all of the ingredients together and spreading the batter evenly into the pans, but design was where he floundered.

 

“I get that what I did was wrong,” Ashley started, “but I don't see why all of this is necessary. We all hate Travis, except for maybe Larry.” The male didn’t respond for a second, just watching Ash spread the frosting evenly on the sides of the cakes. When she had coated it thick enough, she started on the top.

 

“No, Larry doesn’t like him either. He’s just been letting his dick think for him ever since he and Sal hooked up.” Todd didn't realized what he had let slip until he saw the girl pause, turning away from the cake. She cocked her head slightly.

 

“They did  _ what _ ?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I guess you don’t know about that,” Todd nervously joked. He pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose as Ash continued to stare him down. Her mouth fell agape.

 

“ _ When?  _ Why am I the only one that doesn’t know about this?” After her initial shock was over, Ash turned back to the cake.

 

“I know it started a couple weeks ago. I’m guessing Larry only talked to me about it because, as of the last time I checked, he’s still swearing that he’s Larry-SuperStraight-Johnson,” Todd scoffed. His mind traveled back to their cursed lunch encounter with Travis, reflecting on how the metal head had talked about “praying the gay away.” “Or maybe he's starting to come around to the fact that he’s at least bi, I don’t know.”

 

“No wonder Sal left with me then,” Ash mused. She finished icing the top of the cake before speaking again. “I thought he was just upset that his crush was fucking around or something.”

 

“Larry’s kind of a dick,” Todd thought aloud. Ash discarded her piping bag and got out another one. She handed it to Todd to fill with white frosting, deciding that she had done her fair share.

 

“But he’s  _ our  _ dick.” Both of them erupted into laughter at the phrasing. After they calmed down, Ash opened the refrigerator to pull out the bowl of white frosting for Todd. “So do you think Lar’s actually into Sal or just in it for sex?”

 

Todd let out a sigh at that. He dug out a half clean spatula from their mess and began to shove the icing into the bag. “I have a theory,” he stated. “Yes, I think Larry’s head over heels for Sal. Do I think they’ll ever be together romantically though? No.”

 

“Why not?” Ash pouted.

 

“Sal was the first actual friend Larry had. If it hadn’t been for Sal, we probably never would’ve even talked to him,” Todd admitted. He shoved the frosting into the bag a bit more forcefully. “And I don’t think Larry is willing to take even the slightest chance of fucking their friendship up. I personally don’t believe he has any problem with being gay. I think the only problem he has with it is knowing he likes Sal.”

 

“Well, prom is right around the corner. Who knows what'll happen?” The brunette suggested. Todd rolled his eyes as he cut the tip of the bag off with a pair of batter encrusted scissors.

 

“Their tension isn’t going to get resolved in a little less than a month Ash,” the redhead stated, trying to pull his friend back to reality. The girl just giggled at the comment.

 

\- - -

 

Sal’s eyes stared at the mirror in front of him. His hands were clenched around the edge of his sink, knuckles white from how hard he was gripping it. He wasn’t wearing his prosthetic since he was in the comfort of his own home, and his eyes darted around, staring at every inch of his face. 

 

_ Staring at every ugly scar that cut into his skin, twisting it into terrifying shapes. _

 

Sal’s hand went up to his face, tracing along the newly healed scratches that had resulted from him clawing at his face when he had his most recent nightmare. His fingers traced down them until they landed at his lips. His breath hitched, as it always did, when he took in their awul shape. One scar, larger than most of the rest, slashed through his mouth and pulled his top lip up. It left him with a cleft.

 

The male absolutely hated thinking about how Larry had seen this version of his face, the non prosthetic one, twice now. He hated how his friend’s eyes widened in surprise each time before staring intently at him. He hated how it had left him feeling exposed. No one was supposed to see this but him. Maybe the state of his face was why Larry had felt like being with someone besides him. Sal’s stomach churned as he thought about Larry kissing Travis, making out with the person that had assaulted him verbally and physically for years. His stomach churned harder, and he bent over his toilet as his body began to dry heave.

 

He hated himself for developing a stupid crush on his best friend. He hated himself for trying to get into Larry’s pants as a coping mechanism. He hated himself, even more, for backtracking on his words everytime he even got close to giving a confession to the other. If he had just been truthful from the start, then maybe his predicament wouldn’t be so bad.

 

Sal’s vision went out of focus as his body stopped heaving. He dumbly watched his saliva dribble from his lips and into the bowl below him. His mind screamed at him to get back up on his feet and do something productive, but everything felt so numb. It was as if a dull static had clogged his veins instead of coursing blood. Slowly, he wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand before stumbling up to his feet. He stretched, raising his arms over his head and letting out a small sigh, before he grabbed his discarded prosthetic off the counter and made his way to his room.

 

Once his bedroom door shut behind him, he strapped the mask back onto his face. Even alone, he didn’t like going without it for long periods of time. He blinked, trying to get used to his vision being slightly more restricted, before scanning his room. He had searched for his lost journal more time than he could count and never found it. He was tempted to ransack his room again but decided against the notion. Writing down what was bothering had never really helped in the first place. With another long sigh, he made his way to his bed and plopped down onto it. As if on cue, he heard someone knock at his door. He figured his Dad must have come home for once, and he just didn't hear him enter the apartment.

 

“Come on in,” Sal shouted. His gaze focused on the ceiling as the door swung open. He heard the door close and footsteps pad towards him, but he didn't bother to look over.

 

“We need to talk.” That was not the voice he had been expecting or wanted to hear. He turned his head to stare at Larry who stood a couple feet from his bed. Sal propped himself up, hating the urgency in the other’s voice and the deepened dark circles under his eyes.

 

“Why?” Larry physically winced at the bluntness of the question. He hadn’t attempted to speak to the other ever since the lunchroom incident.

 

“Because I’m sorry,” the brunet gushed out. Sal sat up more and swung his legs, so he was sitting upright on the edge of his. Larry took that as an invitation to sit beside him. “I’m sorry about kissing Travis. That was a shitty thing for me to do to you.”

 

Sal shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not like we’re dating or anything. You can do whatever you want.” 

 

Larry stared at him harder, and the shorter male knew he wasn’t going to be appreciative of whatever the brunet decided to say next. “Yeah, but you like me.”

 

The wind felt like it had been knocked out of Sal, his mouth falling slightly open behind his prosthetic. No, he had been careful with his actions. There was no way that Larry should have known his harbored feelings. “As a friend-“

 

“Look Sal, I’m not going to argue with you. You can swear up and down that you don’t later,” Larry stated. The brunet clasped his hands in his lap and focused his eyes on the floor below him. “It doesn’t matter. Either way, what happened between me and Travis shouldn’t have. He’s a dick who’s literally bullied you for years, and I’m sorry for you getting in anyway hurt because of what I did.”

 

“Apology accepted,” Sal managed. Larry turned his gaze back to him, noting how his hands nervously fidgeted at his clothing.

 

“And there’s another thing,” the taller male added. Sal didn’t say anything, just waited for the response. “I want this game of ours to stop. I don’t want to do anything sexual with you right now.”

 

Sal’s head snapped to look at Larry at the comment, but the brunet’s sight was trained on the floor once more. Sal felt his temper grow and panic bubble inside of him all at once. 

 

_ Larry was going to leave him. _

 

“If this is because you think I like you, I can assure you-“

 

“It’s not,” Larry cut him off. The brunet ran both of his hands through his hair and let out a wry chuckle. He shook his head out of sour amusement and faced Sal once more. “I’m gay Sal. I’m actually gay, and I’m not about to screw up our friendship over this stupid fling.”

 

Sal became lost in thought, analyzing the comment from every angle. He drew the same conclusion every time but shook the notion off. Larry spoke again. “I want everything to go back to the way it was. I just want us to be two stupid teenagers again, facing the world with all odds stacked against us. I just want us to go back to being  _ us _ ,” Larry muttered.

 

It took Sal by surprise when he saw silent tears start to trail down Larry’s face. He reached out a hand and placed it on the other’s shoulder. “Hey, we’ve been friends for a long ass time, and the past few weeks isn’t going to stop that. We’re in this together,” Sal tried to console. He wasn’t used to their positions being reversed like this.

 

“I love you dude,” Larry choked out. He sniffled and wiped his tears away, trying to regain his self control. Sal squeezed his shoulder lightly.

 

“I love you too,” Sal replied. The brunet started crying harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I really enjoy reading all of your comments.
> 
> If you haven’t already, check out my new Salarry oneshot, Under The Table.
> 
> And join my SF discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/V9skBQw


	12. Reviewing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back and better than ever after a brief writer's block.
> 
> Honestly, if it wasn't for ya comments and SaLarry cosplay TikToks, I'd have no motivation to write. So love and thank yawll

Larry’s own exhaustion betrayed him as a long yawn slipped past his lips. All three sets of eyes turned from the television to glance at him. The brunet snickered and stretched an arm over the shoulders of Sal, who sat beside him on the couch. “Are you already falling asleep?” Ash teased from the other end of the sofa.

 

“Oh, no,” Larry rebuffed. His fingers absentmindedly toyed with Sal’s shirt sleeve. The shorter male rested his head against Larry’s shoulder, and the brunet gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. “It’s just been a long day is all.”

 

“All we’ve done is lounged around and ate chips,” Todd joined in, taking Ash’s side. A smirk pulled at the girl’s glossed lips as she raised a manicured brow. Larry grimaced, glaring at both of them. His hold around Sal tightened.

 

“Okay,  _ sue me _ , I am a little sleepy,” he deadpanned. Todd let out a snort and returned to watching the television in front of them. Ash’s grin broadened, and Larry’s eyes flickered down to her teeth, noting the red stain across the top row. “You have lipstick on your teeth,” Larry stated, free hand gesturing to his own mouth. Ash clamped her mouth shut as she swiped her tongue across her teeth.

 

“Better?” Larry squinted his eyes as she flashed another grin. Not being able to pick out any remnants of makeup, he gave a curt nod. Ash’s smile softened as she sank back into her seat of the sofa.

 

“Since when did we discuss makeup at our sleepovers?” Sal grumbled into Larry’s side. The taller male barked out a laugh alongside Ash. Todd shot all three of them angry stares, just wanting to become immersed with the movie they were supposed to be watching. Larry held up his hands in mock surrender at the glare before placing them around Sal again. He rested his chin on the top of his friend’s head, eyes shifting to stare at the movie but not really watching it. He felt Sal let out a deep sigh from under his prosthetic, bringing a question back up to Larry’s mind that he had been evading for two weeks.

 

_ Had he and Sal been this close as friends before their friendship had been briefly muddied? _

 

Larry’s mind screamed at him, yelling no. Like always, he shook the thought off. When he had went over to Sal’s apartment two weeks ago and apologized for everything, it was like a switch had been flipped the next day. They both slipped right back into their friendship, pretending like nothing had ever happened between them. However, Larry knew that everything wasn’t as peachy keen as it seemed. Any contact between them always lasted a second too long, and whenever they jumped into a sarcastic argument, a new kind of tension hung in the air. Larry had ignored it all just like Sal had chosen to, but it was proving to be increasingly difficult. The brunet’s inner debate was broken up as he felt his friend shift closer to him and rest a hand on his thigh. The gesture was innocent, but it made Larry want to scream until he lost his voice.

 

“Do you guys even realize what’s coming up in a couple of weeks?” Ash questioned. Larry could’ve sobbed with thankfulness for the distraction, finally freeing himself from his turmoil. Todd slumped back onto the couch and yanked the television remote out from where it was stuck between two cushions. All attention was on him as he jabbed a thumb at the pause button, and the television fell silent.

 

“Oh god, please tell us what is so,  _ so _ important that it must interrupt my movie,” Todd seethed. Ash simpered as she swung her legs up on the couch, so she could sit criss cross. The redhead’s stare turned from her, to the other two, and back to her before he dropped the remote. “This is the last time I ever invite you heathens over for a movie night.”

 

“Todd’s tantrum aside,” Ash snickered, “Have y'all seriously forgotten what’s happening in fourteen days?” All three boys looked up at her with blank stares. Her mouth gaped, and she smacked a hand against her own forehead. “You guys are ridiculous. It’s prom! Prom is coming up,” she gasped out, words tumbling over themselves in excitement.

 

“I don’t see the problem. Sal has already made reservations at IHop-”

 

“Cancel them!” Ash shouted, cutting Larry off. She stood up on the couch, legs shaking from the unsturdy foundation. One hand placed itself at her hip as the other pointed a painted, accusatory finger at Larry. “We aren’t skipping prom to indulge in pancakes again this year. We’re going to the dance,” she declared.

 

Larry rolled his eyes at the statement, thinking it was a joke. “No, she’s right,” Todd piped. The brunet’s eyes immediately widened in horror at the two of them. “I don’t think we should miss our senior prom.”

 

“Oh my god, you two can’t be serious,” Larry groaned out. His hand rubbed at his head in frustration, and he felt Sal sit up, pulling away from him.

 

“I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea either,” Sal admitted. Ash grinned as she looked down at a defeated Larry, knowing there was no way he could weasel out of it if all three of them ganged up against him. The brunet let out a soft sigh, sentencing himself to a shitty night filled with uncomfortable clothing, subpar punch, and ignorant teenagers. 

 

“I can’t believe you let them taint you,” Larry whined to Sal, causing all three of them to double over in laughter. Ash jumped back down to a sitting position on the sofa, and the piece of furniture gave an obnoxious creak beneath her.

 

“Oh come on, it’s not going to be that bad,” she reassured. Her socked feet rubbed at the carpeting beneath them as her eyes held a mischievous glint. Larry already knew he wasn't going to like whatever she said next. “Maybe Travis will ask you to slow dance with him,” she joked. Larry felt Sal stiffen beside him, and he tried his best to not overthink the action.

_ Too soon Ash, too soon. _

 

“Did the asshole like his cake by the way?” Larry asked, trying his best to partially change the topic. Todd and Ash had told him and Sal about the apology cake they made for Travis, but they had never updated them on what had happened when they delivered it.

 

“Oh, no,” Todd shook his head, lips pursing. “He pushed it out of Ash’s hands and onto the ground.” Sal gasped in horror.

 

“He did  _ not! _ ” He exclaimed. Ash sadly shook her head, proving Todd’s words true.

 

“God, what an absolute douche,” Larry muttered. His hand tapped at his knee in agitation, and Sal placed his own hand overtop of his to stop it. Neither pulled away, resulting in an awkward hand sandwich. The brunet let out a heavy exhale through his nose before turning his hand over, palm up, so he could lace his fingers with Sal’s. No one said anything about the gesture.

 

“There was icing smeared all over his lawn,” Ash pouted. Todd patted her shoulder in consolation.

 

“At least the ants will enjoy our cake,” he offered. Ash did snort at that.

 

“It’ll be the best god damn meal of their lives,” she whispered, passion in her voice. Tears began to prick at her eyes, and Larry was tempted to howl in laughter from the absurdity of the situation. However, he refrained as Todd stood up from his seat. The redhead bent down to scoop up an empty chip bowl from the coffee table.

 

“I’m going to go make some popcorn,” he explained. His eyes flitted down to Larry and Sal’s still interlocked hands as he pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose, the action so fast that it was almost undetectable. “How about you come help me Ash?” The girl jumped up from her spot, glad for an excuse to stretch her legs.

 

“As long as I get to salt it because you never put enough,” Ash exclaimed as she began to skip to the kitchen. The redhead shook his head as he walked after her.

 

“But salt is so  _ spicy _ ,” Todd grumbled under his breath.

 

Larry watched as they disappeared into the kitchen, suddenly feeling a lot more awkward that he was alone with Sal. Despite them trying to repair their friendship, they hadn’t hung out alone a lot. “So um, come here often?” Larry joked as he turned his head back to Sal.

 

“That was actually painful to witness Johnson,” Sal laughed back, his grip tightening on Larry’s hand. As their snickers died down, they both fell into an awkward silence. Larry worried at his bottom lip as he tried to perform quick math in his head.

Todd was heating up popcorn, but he hadn’t started the microwave yet. Larry could faintly hear crinkling, a telltale sign that the redhead was still struggling to get the package open. Once he did get it open, it would take around two minutes for the kernels to fully pop. After the popcorn finished heating, Todd and Ash would inevitably argue about how much salt to add. That would at least take a few more minutes, meaning the duo shouldn’t be finished and out of the kitchen in less than five minutes.

 

Larry could feel Sal’s thumb tracing light circles on the back of his hand, and he finally pulled his hand away. Sal looked back up at him. “You trust me, right?” Larry asked, and Sal dryly laughed.

 

“Of course,” he complied, but there was an edge to his voice as he watched Larry. The brunet’s body shifted to face Sal more as one of his hands combed through the blue strands. They sat like that for a moment until Larry’s fingertips brushed against the buckle of the prosthetic’s bottom strap. Sal immediately panicked as Larry unclasped the latch. “Hey, what are you doing?”

 

Sal pulled back as the straps fell to the sides of his face. His hand immediately went up to hold the bottom of the prosthetic firmly against his skin. Larry’s hands fell from Sal’s hair to his shoulders. His fingers gripped the other tightly. “Trust me, please,” he pleaded. 

 

Sal hesitated, and Larry grew scared that his friend was going to push him away. However, Sal eventually let go of the mask and nodded. The brunet wet his lips out of anxiety as he gently brought a hand up to push the prosthetic up and over the other’s head. Once the prosthetic was laid on the couch, Sal’s eye darted over to the kitchen doorway. Todd and Ash had yet to see his face, and he wasn't ready to show them now.

 

Larry cupped a side of Sal’s face, rubbing his thumb over a particularly brutal scar that ran deeper than the surrounding ones. He could feel his friend’s gaze switch back over to him, staring intently. It was almost palpable how hard the gears in Sal’s brain were turning to figure out where this was going, and Larry wanted to yell at him to stop thinking. Instead, he moved his hand, so it was resting closer to the back of Sal’s neck. His own eyes met Sal’s for a second before they dropped to the other’s torn lips. He had to know if he had feelings for Sal. The doubt and indecision that had plagued him for the past two weeks had shaken him. He needed to know if he was just being absurd and could laugh this all off, or if he had grown smitten and needed to squander the motion.

 

He leaned down, before his determination could wane, and pressed his lips against Sal’s. The touch was so light, and Larry pulled away so quick that he could’ve tricked himself into believing that it never happened. However, the pale dusting of pink against Sal’s face, and his own racing heartbeat proved the opposite. “Larry,” Sal stammered, unsure of how to proceed.

 

No, Larry couldn't talk right then. His brain was moving too fast ahead of him for him to come up with an excuse for what had just happened. He captured Sal’s lips against his own again, swallowing whatever the other had wanted to say. This time, he didn't pull away so fast.

 

There was something drastically different between having Sal bent over a bathroom counter and kissing him. While Larry quickly noted that they were both great, he’d much rather take the latter. There was a sweetness to Sal’s lips that couldn't be replaced with a cheap orgasm. Not to mention, there was something so deliciously hot about how Sal melted underneath him from just a playful nip at his bottom lip.

 

_ Yeah, he was definitely head over heels for Sal. _

 

Todd peered from the kitchen doorway, ducking his head back into the room before he was caught. He sauntered over to Ash who was lightly dusting salt over the popcorn. “You owe me five dollars. They’re snogging,” he whispered, careful to not be heard by the other two. Ash threw him a stern stare before proceeding to dump half of the salt container into the bowl. The redhead screamed, cursing himself for not remembering how much of a sore loser the girl was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, so what'd yawll think? Lemme know in the comments.
> 
> also, join this SF Discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/spEYwS


	13. Saving Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry this update took so long. Senioritis hit me like a bus, and I have no real excuse. I promise the next chapter will be up a lot faster than this one was.
> 
> Despite my sorrow and guilt, I'm still going to plug my tumblr since I finally made an account. The user is @homemade-headcanon-fics. I post writing snippets (that contain Salarry content) on there that I don't post here, so yawll should go check it out.

The only sound in the small bathroom was the gentle buzz of Sal’s electric toothbrush and the almost inaudible trickle of water from the sink faucet. Larry’s tongue burned as he swished Todd’s ‘Oral Health Care _ Extreme’  _ mouthwash around. The dull pain was nothing compared to the thudding ache that had rooted itself in his head right after he had pulled away from kissing Sal. A couple of hours had transpired since the incident, and everyone was preparing to go to bed now. Ashley was making tea in the kitchen while Todd was ransacking the apartment to look for extra pillows and blankets. Despite night falling, Larry doubted he’d be getting much sleep.

 

The sound of Sal’s toothbrush powering off and him spitting into the sink broke Larry out of his thoughts. He was relieved as his friend moved over, so he could rid his mouth of the ridiculous gargle.

 

“Oh, that’s hot,” Sal joked, watching Larry with amusement as the brunet kept spitting into the sink, trying to rid himself of a stubborn piece of drool stuck to his lip. The metalhead whipped his head around to glare at the other, and Sal snorted when he realized there was a bit of dried toothpaste stuck on Larry’s upper lip. 

 

“Sorry that not everyone can be as charming as you,” Larry shot back. Sal watched, his amusement only growing, as the brunet wiped his face off with a towel but still managed to miss the toothpaste.

 

“You’re actually killing me here,” the blunet snorted as he stood on his tiptoes. Larry’s eyes watched his every movement with caution as Sal rubbed the toothpaste on his lip away with his thumb.

 

“What are you doing?” The metalhead’s voice came out guarded. The hard shift in tone was almost enough to make Sal flinch away. Instead, he slowly pulled his hand away, letting it fall back at his side.

 

“You had some toothpaste stuck on your lip,” he explained. Larry’s posture immediately relaxed, and his hands wringed together as he chose to stare in the mirror and not at Sal. The shorter male let out a small sigh before reaching to grab his prosthetic that laid by the sink.

 

“I’m sorry,” Larry apologized. His eyes darted from his own reflection over to his friend. Sal paused his motions, not lifting the prosthetic up to his face yet. Larry let out a sigh of his own and ran a hand through his hair before choosing to stare at the mirror again. “My mind’s just been a mess since I, well I mean since we-”

 

“Kissed,” Sal finished for him. He was sure the taller male would’ve just rambled around the subject unless he intervened. Larry’s face paled, and his hands gripped the edge of the counter. Sal laid his prosthetic back down, sensing they were about to have a serious conversation. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“No!” Larry’s reply came fast and nervous. His eyes were blown wide with fear, and Sal was sure the other would have curled in on himself if he was alone. A few moments dragged by in complete silence before the brunet calmed down. “I mean, kind of,” he admitted.

 

Sal struggled to keep the smile that threatened to overcome his lips at bay. He felt like some progress was being made between them if Larry was finally willing to talk. “Okay, talk away.” His friend shot him a panicked look. “Pretend I’m Todd or Ash if you can’t talk about this to Sal Fisher.”

 

Larry let out a slow, long exhale as Sal walked behind him, so he could sit on the edge of the bathtub. The metalhead took a minute to process the bluenet’s proposition. “Pretend you’re Todd?”

 

“If you can talk to Todd about this then yeah,” he replied. Sal mimicked pushing nonexistent glasses up the bridge of his nose, and Larry let out a chuckle. The brunet shook his head, disbelief that pretending Sal was someone else would actually work. He supposed it was worth a shot though.

 

“Okay,  _ Todd _ ,” Larry started, pushing himself away from the sink. He paced around the small room before deciding to lean against the door. His arm crossed themselves over his chest, his body trying to provide a barrier between him and the other. Sal just grinned at him, encouraging him to continue. “I kissed Sal earlier today, and I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s driving me crazy.”

 

Sal felt his chest tighten and heart flutter, but he pushed the feeling down and cleared his throat. “Why do you think it’s driving you crazy?” Sal did his best to take on a higher pitched tone to match Todd’s, and both boys started laughing at the nasally pitch. It took a few minutes for the giggles to die down, so Larry could respond.

 

“I think I like him.” Once the words fell out into the open, there was no taking them back. Larry’s eyes fell to stare at the floor, feeling too exposed.

 

“You think you like him,  _ but… _ ” Sal corrected him. Larry looked back up at him in confusion. His friend wouldn't meet his gaze.

 

“But what?” A soft huff escaped Sal’s lips, betraying his suddenly downtrodden mindset.

 

“But you’re never going to tell him that,” Sal finished. Larry wanted to laugh at the absurdity in the statement, but in a sense, he supposed Sal was right.

 

“That’s only because there’s too much on the line.  _ I can’t like him, Todd _ ,” Larry whined. Sal leaned forward from where he was perched on the tub, hands clasped together. The brunet launched back into his rambling, nervousness overcoming common sense. “We’d absolutely destroy each other. We both have super self destructive tendencies. I tried to kill myself back in the day. Sal was going to try and kill himself around that same time. Not to mention, it’d obliterate our friendship-”

 

“Wait,” Sal started, breaking character and ceasing Larry’s mumbling. “How do you know about that?”

 

Larry’s eyebrows pulled together in befuddlement. “Know about what?”

 

“How do you know I tried to kill myself? I never told you about that,” Sal deadpanned. His expression grew accusatory, and Larry swallowed. Sal was right; he had never told him. The brunet had read about it from Sal’s stolen journal. “You have it, don’t you? You have my journal.”

 

“No, I don’t have your journal,” Larry stated, voice falsely callous at the accusation. Larry felt his guilt start to mount, but he knew he wouldn't get out of this alive if Sal found out he had read his diary. “Do you really think that little of me, dude?”

 

Sal’s expression softened at the seemingly hurt look on Larry’s face. The bluenet hung his head, regretting jumping to conclusions so fast. “Sorry, I just still haven't found it, and it’s making me anxious. What if someone like Travis finds it?”

 

“I don’t think Travis would bully you about it honestly,” Larry mused aloud, recalling the blond’s semi-confession about his feelings towards Sal. He instantly realized that was the wrong thing to say as Sal’s expression turns bitter once more. His friend did not like being reminded of the time Travis and Larry spent together. “But I’m sure it’ll turn up sooner or later.”

 

“So how did you know about that though? Did my Dad tell you?” Larry prayed to whatever god existed that Sal wasn’t setting him up before agreeing.

 

“Yeah, he told me. He wanted me to help watch over you since he’s always away on business trips,” Larry lied, feeling relieved when Sal accepted it as the truth.

 

“Man, fuck that dude,” Sal muttered. He clasped his hands together tighter, itching to hold a cigarette between his fingers. His nicotine addiction made him it’s bitch years ago. “I need to go light up,” he announced, standing up. Larry took a few steps towards him before Sal could grab his prosthetic and dash out the door.

 

“In all seriousness, if you ever need to talk, I’m always here for you.” Sal looked like he wanted to puke. He already used Larry for his own personal comfort when his night terrors got too bad. If he relied on the taller male for anything more, Larry would basically be his own therapist. He didn’t want to do that to the other.

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Sal disregarded, plucking the prosthetic off the counter. “And if you ever want to talk to Sal Fisher about what you discussed with Todd today, you know I’m okay with that.”

 

Larry’s arms uncrossed from their spot at his chest as Sal quickly leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. The action was quick, and the brunet didn’t process what had happened until Sal’s prosthetic was already strapped back on, and the other was out the door. He stood dumbly by himself for what seemed like hours, mind still ablaze and the feeling of Sal’s lips pressed against him still buzzing.

 

Despite the gang preparing for bed, two hours had passed, and everyone was still wide awake like the gremlins they were. Todd sat on the couch, whispering sweet nothings into the phone pressed against his ear. The other three assumed, and hoped, that it was Neil on the other end. Ash also laid on the couch, head in Todd’s lap and legs dangling off the edge. She held her phone in her hands, most likely scrolling through social media. Larry had already seen her drop the device on her face twice. Larry and Sal both sat on the floor in front of the couch. The bluenet had finally gotten ahold of a cigarette, and it was dangled between his lips. His prosthetic lay discarded on the ground beside him, blue hair shielding his face. He had taken off the damned thing only after Todd and Ashley had sworn they wouldn’t peek. Everyone’s attention was suddenly turned to Larry as his ringtone belted out.

 

“Sorry,” he apologized before pulling the phone out of his back pocket. His eyes widened in surprise before he grunted in annoyance when he realized Travis was calling. He quickly dismissed the call but not before Ashley caught a glimpse of the screen.

 

“Aw, it’s your boo thang,” she teased. Larry could all but feel Sal bristle as the other harshly sucked on his cancer stick. Before he could chastise the girl, his phone beeped, signalling he received a text from the blond. WIth a sigh, he opened his messages.

 

_ Larry, it’s important. _

 

The brunet typed aggressively on his virtual keyboard, certain whatever the other had to say wasn't important in the slightest.

 

_ What do you want Travis? _

 

The reply came in record speed.

 

_ I can’t do this anymore. _

 

Larry paused, fingers hovering over the screen. It started to sink in that Travis had been acting weirder as of late. While he wasn't fond of the other, he kicked himself for not checking up on him.

_ What’s wrong? _

 

His message was left on read, so he tried again.

 

_ Travis, what’s wrong? _

 

His ringtone blared once more as Travis called him again. Larry answered it without hesitation this time.

 

“What’s up dude?” Larry tried to sound chill, but his anxiety only grew as he could hear the other sniffle from the other end. The gang gave him curious stares, but Larry was too focused on the call to notice.

 

“Do you,” Travis started, but he had to pause as his breath got caught in his throat. Larry worried at his bottom lip as he waited for the other to calm down slightly, so he could talk. “Do you remember when Ash told your friends about us kissing?”

 

Of course he did. “Yeah, why?”

 

He heard Travis suck in a breath before continuing. “People overheard, and word got back to my father. I’m living in my own personal Hell,” Travis got out before his words turned into cries. Larry listened as the other tried to get his hiccups back under control.

 

“Hey, I’m sure he’ll eventually come around to you being gay-”

 

“You don’t understand Larry. You don’t know what he  _ does  _ to me. You don’t go home after school everyday, gambling about how you parent is going to hurt you,” Travis seethed, cutting the brunet off. Larry felt his stomach drop at the words, and he pressed the phone harder against his ear.

 

“What do you mean Travis?” The line fell silent except for the occasional shudder from the blond. Larry waited, but it became obvious the other wasn't going to answer. “Does he hit you?”

 

It seemed he hit the nail on the head when Travis still didn't answer but let out a sob. Larry began to feel ill as he remembered all the days the blond would come to school with a busted lip or bruised eye. How had no one caught on before? His uneasiness only grew at the other’s next words. 

 

“I just - I can’t be here anymore. I can't do this.” Larry cursed under his breath as Travis hung up, and the line fell silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love if you left a comment to tell me your thoughts on this chapter or to give me criticism.
> 
> Also, you should join this discord, so we can be friends (or add my tumblr):  
> https://discord.gg/FfGrtvG


	14. Deleting Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My senior year is swiftly coming to a close, so updates should get faster. If I'm really grinding, I might have the next chapter up by the end of Tuesday.
> 
> Also, join my SF discord (a different one than I was priorly promoting), so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/kYtz72e
> 
> Make sure you read the notes at the end for an important announcement!

Larry’s mind went blank as the line fell silent, and Travis’s sniffles disappeared. Curious eyes dug into him, waiting for an explanation as to the call, but his brain refused to connect the appropriate dots together. He felt slowed down to an insufferable degree. The blood pounding in his ears sounded more like static than the normal bass drum beat it mimicked. Even his movements felt jarring as he pocketed his phone, like a newborn lamb stumbling to its feet.

 

“Larry?” Sal’s hand was on his shoulder. Most other times, it would’ve been comforting. Right now, it was too much. The touch pressed against him hot and heavy, an iron branding him. “Why do you look like that? What was the call about?”

 

The brunet’s eyes flicked to the blank television screen in front of them. He could barely catch his distorted reflection in it, but from the little he could glimpse, he had to admit he looked a wreck. His brows were in a permanent furrow and thin lips quirked into a grimace. Not to mention, he could feel his shirt sticking to his back from his sudden cold sweat. 

 

“That was Travis,” Larry managed. He clenched his hands into fists for a second, and wiped his palms against his jeans afterwards. His hands suddenly felt clammy. “We need to go Sal.”

 

“Go? Where are you two going?” Ash had sat up from her lying position on the couch, curiosity overcoming her laziness.

 

“I-I can’t explain right now, but me and Sal need to go.” The brunet stood to his feet, but Sal still sat on the floor, confused. “ _ Now. _ ” 

 

With a disgruntled sigh, Sal hooked his prosthetic back on and scrambled back up. Before he was even fully on his feet, Larry was already race walking out the door, leaving a befuddled Ash and Todd behind and a distressed Sal jogging to catch up with him.

 

“Dude, slow down,” Sal complained. Larry cast a glance behind at the other but didn't cease his pace. The bluenet’s slight annoyance only grew when Larry bypassed the elevator and realized they’d be taking the stairs. He was too out of shape for this. “Larry!”

 

“Sal!” Larry huffed back. He did lessen his strides though, so Sal could fall in pace beside him. “Listen, I’ll explain everything in the car.”

 

“In the car?” The shorter male echoed back. Neither of them owned a car nor did they have licenses yet. Todd and Ash were the only members of the group that could legally drive. 

 

“Yeah, my mom’s car,” Larry answered as he swung open the door to the stairs and started dashing down them towards the basement. Once again, Sal fell behind. His short legs couldn’t take him down the stairs nearly as fast.

 

“You can’t take Lisa’s car out on whatever this suicide mission is! With the chaotic mood you’re in right now, you’re going to total it. If that doesn’t kill you, then Lisa will!” By the end of the mouthful, Sal was out of breath and had to pause for a second before making a mad run down the stairs to catch up with Larry once more. “Would you listen to me for _ once  _ in your goddamn life?”

 

“Travis is going to kill himself!” Larry finally stopped for the first time, his hand on the knob of the door that lead into the basement. The metalhead was near tears, and Sal cringed as he saw the other’s lip quiver, threatening to break out into a sob. “I’ve fucked up a lot of things in these past few weeks, but I will never be able to live with myself if I’m part of the reason someone kills themself.”

 

For a second, there was silence, aside from Sal’s pants. He really needed to get out more. Sal just stared at Larry who stared back, silently begging for Sal to comply on this do-not-let-Travis-blow-his-brains-out mission. “Okay, let’s go. Can’t have that blond shit making you feel guilty for the rest of your life.”

 

In a flash, Larry was through the door and into the basement. Sal kept up the best he could as the taller male skirted through his apartment, grabbed the car keys, and headed towards the complex’s back parking lot through the exit in his room. The bluenet could have cried with relief as Lisa’s silver minivan came into view, realizing he wouldn’t have to run around anymore.

 

“Where are we even going?” Sal asked as his hand hooked around the car’s smooth door handle. Larry’s eyes flicked to him for a second before the brunet climbed into the driver’s seat. Sal followed suit, cringing as the pleather crinkled beneath him. 

 

“Travis’s house,” Larry answered as he inserted the key into the ignition, and the engine purred to life. Sal tried not to dwell too long on the sour thought that his friend would’ve had to been at the blond’s house to know where it was. Falling silent, Sal pulled the seatbelt over his lap, trying not to burn himself with the sun beaten metal piece, as Larry pulled out of the parking lot.

 

Larry had never been a fan of rollercoasters. He did not care for the rush of adrenaline that others craved. The flips, twists, and speed made his stomach flip in anger and made him stagger to the nearest trash can after the four minute ride was over. Even speedy car rides over hilly roads aggravated him. He couldn’t stand it on the rare occasion Lisa would drive them somewhere a little late and drive ten miles per hour over the speed limit.

 

Now, however, the brunet was in a very different mindset. He numbly noticed the bold fifty five on the speed limit sign he flew past, but his speedometer was permanently set on seventy five. Even then, his foot tried to press the gas pedal down harder, but the van was at its limit. 

 

“Driving to his house is going to be futile if the cops pull us over first,” Sal hissed, practically melted into the seat. The shorter male did love fast rides, but he didn’t love the idea of being in a car with an inexperienced driver who was going twenty miles per hour over the limit. “Why’s he even trying to commit?”

 

“Apparently people overheard when Ash outed him, and word got back to his family,” Larry answered, leaning forward in his seat as his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Again, Sal tried not to think about the circumstances that caused Ash to out Travis.

 

“So what? He’s going to off himself because his parents know he’s a twink-”

 

“Do you _want_ him to die?” Larry finally directed his attention from the road to Sal, and the blunet paused, mouth agape. Of course he didn’t hope Travis actually killed himself. He just couldn’t keep the sourness out of his voice when he was being reminded so much about Travis and Larry’s past relationship. “Or is your ego wounded because I'm mentioning Travis so much?”

 

Sal felt his face grow red beneath his prosthetic. He wanted to berate his friend for the notion, but Larry had hit the nail on the head.  So instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and sank further back into his seat. The brunet let out a soft sigh at the lack of a response and immediately felt guilty. 

 

“Are we ever not going to be toxic to each other?” Larry chuckled, but it was devoid of any humor. Sal sank back further into his seat if that was even possible.

 

“I wouldn’t call us toxic,” Sal muttered out. The other snorted at the admission.

 

“Yeah because yelling at your friend, who’s also had your dick between their thighs, every other day and making each other feel bad totally isn't a characteristic of a toxic relationship,” Larry sassed. 

 

“We’ve been doing better the past few days though.” Larry didn’t respond, just winced as he pulled the car off of the main road and into a gravel driveway. Sal took in the rather large house with wide eyes. “Is this it?”

 

“Yep,” Larry responded gruffly before throwing the car in park and jumping out. Sal scrambled out after him, not wanting to get left behind. Neither boys noticed there wasn’t a single other car in the driveway as they made their way to the front door. They only realized their trip had been in vain when they got close enough to the door to see a note taped onto it. Larry immediately snatched it off, eyes quickly skimming the messy writing in purple pen.

 

“What does it say?” Larry shoved the note into Sal’s hands before uttering a string of curses.

 

“He’s not here. He’s not  _ fucking  _ here Sal,” Larry exclaimed, running his hand through his hair out of distress as he paced around the front porch. “Shit!”

 

Sal hurriedly read the note and realized Larry’s distress. The blond had correctly assumed Larry would probably try to be his knight in shining armor, so he had driven to what the townsfolk of Nockfell referred to as the “Old Bridge.” It was a rickety thing that lead to an abandoned park where Sal assumed families used to go to have picnics and let their kids run off energy. Both the bridge and the park had been out of use since before Larry was born. Sometimes the two of them would walk over to the park, joking about how the park had been built so close to a cliff’s edge. Now, he did not feel that same spark of humor, knowing Travis was probably planning on jumping off the bridge if he hadn’t already.

 

“Come on, moping around here isn't going to do anyone any good,” Sal murmured, extending his hand out to Larry. The brunet took it, without thinking, and gave Sal’s hand a little, thankful squeeze as they walked back to the car. “He’s going to be fine.” 

 

Sal really hoped Travis would be for Larry’s sake.

 

\- - -

 

Larry had never been so glad to see a fluorescent purple sweater and infuriatingly well kept blond locks as he was when him and Sal pulled up to the Old Bridge. He heard Sal let out a breath of relief as he parked the car and pulled the key out of the ignition. Travis hadn’t moved from where he stood, back facing them and leaning against the bridge’s railing, and Larry wondered if he hadn't heard them yet. That question was answered when Sal got out of the car and slammed his door shut particularly loud. Travis immediately whipped around, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

 

“Travis!” Larry called out, beginning to jog up to the wooden bridge. He heard Sal’s footsteps following behind him. The blond grew tense as they approached, and Larry was afraid he was going to either run or hurl himself over the railing.

 

“Why are you  _ here _ ?” The blond’s voice came out scared and as Larry and Sal finally reached the bridge, the wood creaking beneath their added weight, the brunet was able to make out the new bruises and encrusted blood on Travis’s face.

 

“Oh come on,” Sal bemoaned. “You left a note on your door. You knew Larry was going to try and find you.” Larry gave Sal a harsh glare, and the other shrugged his shoulders. This wasn’t the time for bickering.

 

“But you weren’t supposed to be here this fast,” Travis gushed, taking a step back. Larry watched warily as one of Travis’s hands went to grip the railing, nails digging into the decaying wood.

 

“You’d be surprised how fast you can travel when you’re recklessly driving,” Larry tried joking. Travis just took another small step back, another step that put him closer to the railing. The brunet’s forced smile faltered, knowing damn well Travis would still hurl himself into the cliffside if too panicked. “We’re here to take you home,” Larry added softer. The blond physically winced at the words.

 

“I can’t go home,” he muttered, shaking his head. “I  _ can’t _ go back there.” Travis’s weight shifted from the balls of his feet to his toes and back again, his body slightly rocking. Larry was sure that if this had been a video game, the blond would have a stress meter that was about to go through the roof.

 

“Come back to the apartments with us then,” Sal added, taking a step towards the disgruntled teen. Either Travis didn't notice or felt unthreatened because he remained in his spot, not backing up further. “You’re eighteen; you don't have to go back there.”

 

“It’s not just my dad though,” the blond admitted. His eyes shifted nervously from Larry to Sal. “ _ I  _ can’t live with-with…” Travis tapered off, not wanting to actually admit what everyone already knew.

 

“Then don’t,” Sal offered. “You can take your identity one step at a time. You don’t have to be Travis The Gay who wears the pride flag as a cape everywhere he goes. That’s not you, and you’re the only one forcing yourself in that label. Just be Travis The Christian who can occasionally admit a guy looks nice. Take it one step at a time.” Travis’s hand slipped off the railing and back to his side as Sal took two more step towards him.

 

“Come back with us?” Larry offered again. The blond glanced over at Larry before glancing back at Sal who had his hand outstretched towards him. He hesitated, and Larry held his breath, afraid Travis was going to decline. After a few heavy heartbeats though, Travis took Sal’s hand in his own, and the brunet let out a sigh of relief as Sal led him away from the railing and off the bridge. Larry followed after them, finally releasing a breath he had been holding ever since Travis called him.

 

When all of them made their way into the car, Travis seated in the back with the other two up front, Sal turned to Larry as the brunet started the car back up. “See? We’re not toxic. I’d say we make a pretty good duo.”

 

Larry turned, so he could see behind the car as he started to pull out from where he had parked. When he turned back around, he paused and didn't pull out onto the road just yet. His eyes latched onto Sal’s hand which was holding his prosthetic pressed up against his face. The straps dangled uselessly at the mask’s side. The shorter male must’ve undone them when Larry was turned around. “That’s some bullshit logic, and you know it Fisher.”

 

“Shut up,” Sal teased, good eye glinting with mischief. He took off his prosthetic, covering up the side of his face with it, so Travis couldn’t see his scarring and leaned over towards Larry. The brunet met him in the middle, pressing his lips against the bluenet’s as they were both leaned over the console. 

 

Sal pulled back after a second and put his prosthetic back on. Larry just gave a content hum as he finally pulled out onto the road. And Travis, who watched frozen from the back, could feel his heart shatter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, if you've read this fic, you know I post a link to discord after every chapter. I will no longer be posting that link but a new link to a discord server I made. 
> 
> I'll most likely be slowly integrating out of the old server, so join this discord server if you want to hang! I finally understand the logistics of discord, so I can guarantee it'll properly be modded and be a fun and safe place for everyone. Not to mention, there's not a lot of people in there rn, so if you're shy, this is the perfect time to pop on in.
> 
> Hope to see you in the server soon!  
> https://discord.gg/kYtz72e
> 
> As always, I'd love if yawll commented!


	15. Revealing Pages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all you for the kind comments-they really do help motivate me!  
> Before you read, I'd like to shout out a fic/3 tiktok cosplayers real quick.
> 
> There's this amazing Travis/Larry fic on here called 18 by @Princess_Deku. Pleaseee go check it out. It is, by far, my favorite trarry fic.
> 
> Also, wanted to list 3 tiktok cosplayers, and this is realy overdo.  
> First, go check out @pageofnothing. Back before January, they did a Larry cosplay to the song, Wait A Minute, and that single video is how this fic was born.  
> Also, check out @tipsycritic and @frecklesandstitches because they have s u c h canon sals.

“Are you sure you two will be okay together?” Sal was hesitant to leave the duo, his hand outstretched, but not quite reaching the doorknob. Larry didn’t know if the hesitance was from Sal being afraid that Travis and him would beat each other up, or hookup. Either way, he felt bad knowing that the other was stressing out. If it hadn’t been for Sal’s father’s heavy drinking, the blunet would’ve housed the blond. But alas, Larry had the absolute _fortune_ of taking care of Travis until the blond could find somewhere more reliable to crash.

 

“We’ll be fine,” Larry reassured for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Seeing that Sal still had his feet firmly planted to the ground with no clear intentions of leaving, the brunet took a step towards him, one hand falling to rest at the small of Sal’s back as he pulled the other closer to himself. He used his free hand to brush a few stray strands of blue hair behind Sal’s ear. “Hey, I promise,” the brunet whispered, leaning down to press a chaste kiss against the forehead of Sal’s prosthetic.

 

As if electrocuted, Sal shot out a hand against Larry’s chest and pushed him back a little. A hurt expression crossed the metalhead’s features before dissolving into understanding as he caught Sal’s good eye staring in Travis’s general direction, who sat on the couch. Larry turned his head just in time to catch the other snap his attention back to the television in front of him, as if he hadn’t been eyeing them down.

 

“You weren’t worried about giving him a show earlier in the car,” Larry mused, voice dropped to a murmur, so Travis couldn’t overhear. Sal’s eyes narrowed in feigned annoyance, and he delivered a playful smack to Larry’s upper arm.

 

“I wasn’t thinking clearly earlier, obviously,” Sal rebuffed. The brunet snorted at that.

 

“ _Obviously,_ ” he teased back. Whatever smart remark the shorter male was about to rant out was swallowed as Larry traced his fingers over Sal’s ear and down the side of his neck, thumb pressing against his collarbone. A small, crooked smile spread against the brunet’s lips as he felt Sal’s skin prick, goosebumps covering the area. He traced a finger back up Sal’s throat, eventually tilting the other’s chin up with it. Sal watched him intently, curiosity sparking in those blue eyes. With everything else going on, it had been awhile since Larry felt this persistent thrum humming against him. “I really want to fuck you right now.”

 

“Who says I wouldn’t be the one fucking you Johnson?” Sal quipped, not missing a beat.  Larry’s bottom lip was captured between his two snaggled front teeth as Sal pressed both his hands against his chest now, fingers spreading as he slid them down the brunet’s stomach. The bluenet stood up on his tiptoes, leaning into Larry as his hands traveled low enough to find the other’s waistband. “I’d spread you out so good _daddy_.”

 

Larry could feel his dick getting hard, beginning to uncomfortably press against the fly of his pants, and he could’ve cursed when Sal pulled away, opening the door. “We’ll have to rain check this for when you don’t have company over,” Sal explained, gaze drifting in Travis’s direction. Larry didn’t have to turn to know the twat was watching them.

 

“Didn’t take you for the type to have stage fright,” Larry husked, hormones overruling common sense. For a split second, it looked like Sal might shut the door and jump on him, forgetting Travis. However, after a pause, Sal chuckled.

 

“Talk to you later,” he dismissed before pulling the door shut behind him. The brunet let out a soft groan as he stared at the closed door. He really didn’t want to have to face Travis while sporting a semi, but he also didn’t want to go jerk off in the bathroom while the other was here. Deciding the former option was the lesser of two evils, he made his way over to the couch, pulling the front of his shirt down as he sat on the opposite end of the couch. For a moment, there was just an awkward silence.

 

“I guess you two are pretty close,” Travis finally chose to stay, eyes none too subtly going to stare at Larry’s crotch before looking up to meet his eyes. The brunet scowled, tugging his shirt down further. “So, what, are you two dating?”

 

The venom in the blond’s tone made Larry flinch. “No, we’re not,” he answered truthfully. Him and Sal were treading on some sort of territory beyond bromance, but nothing was official yet. A bit of the harshness of Travis’s expression softened, but his eyes still contained their sour contempt.

 

“Then, I can suck you off?” Larry choked at the question. He somehow managed to swallow his own saliva wrong, and ended up hacking up a lung, face red, as Travis stared at him, gaze unwavering.

 

“I’m sorry - what?” Larry croaked, patting his chest as he recovered. The blond rolled his eyes, obviously growing annoyed.

 

“Can I put your dick in my mouth? I’m not sure if I can ask any clearer.” Travis tossed the remote down onto the coffee table as he faced Larry. The brunet would be lying if he said the idea didn’t have appeal. The idea of himself laying on the couch with the blond laying between his legs, Travis’s lips shining with spit as he went down on the brunet was pretty hot, but he felt himself shaking his head before his horny brain had time to entertain the notion.

 

“No, I think I’m good,” he stated, tongue swiping against his top teeth. Travis’s eyes darkened.

 

“So there _is_ some sort of relationship between you and Sal,” he concluded because the thought of Larry just turning down a blowjob was too incredulous. The metalhead felt his top lip pulling into a sneer as his brows furrowed together.

 

“Sue me Travis. Yes, there is something between us,” Larry started, voice gruff, “I guess you’re just going to have to get over your stupid crush on me.” The latter statement caused Travis’s eyes to widen before going back into their normal scowl.

 

“You think that I like _you_?” Travis chuckled as if the mere idea of him being attracted to Larry was a scripted comedy. “I thought you were already aware that I liked Sal.”

 

Now that Travis mentioned it, Larry could recall the other revealing his feelings for Sal after the first time Travis had kissed him. The revelation had shaken him the first time he heard it, and now, it sat sour in his stomach. Realistically, he knew he didn't have to worry about Travis sweeping Sal off his feet, but he still couldn't help the small bout of jealousy that rose in his chest, threatening to burst if provoked too much. Larry shook his head and stood up from the couch, knees popping. “I don’t have time for this. I’m going to take a shower, and you can grab some blankets and a pillow out of my closet because you're taking the couch,” Larry instructed, thumb jerking up to point in the direction of his room. Travis grunted his approval before grabbing the television remote and flipping through the channels again.

 

Steam clouded the bathroom as hot water hissed from the faucet. The shower had already been running for a handful of minutes, but Larry had yet to step in. His clothes had long ago been discarded on the tile floor, and the cool of the flooring against his bare feet had made him shiver at first. However, the warm water had soon warmed up the small room, and he had grown used to the temperature. 

 

“What am I forgetting?” Larry’s slender fingers had curled around the edge of the bathroom sink, and his eyes squinted at his reflection in the mirror, watching himself slowly be engulfed in fog. The day had been so action packed with trying to locate Travis that he had gotten swept up in a mania. Now that the euphoria was fading away, he felt uneasy. Something was askew, but he couldn't pinpoint what. 

 

After glaring at himself for a few more seconds, he dropped his gaze and turned towards the shower. Turning his mind over obviously wasn't helping, so he may as well go ahead and shower and stop wasting water. A discontented sigh escaped his lips as he pulled back the shower curtain and stepped, immediately hissing as he was scalded. Larry fumbled for the handle, cranking the heat of the water down, and stood stock still until cool water began to stream down his flushed skin. He pushed his sopping hair back with one hand as he reached out for his two-in-one shampoo and conditioner with the other. It wasn't until the water had gotten into his eyes and had squirted a dollop of the soap onto his palm that his mind finally screamed at him, warning him about what he had been forgetting.

 

_Shit._

 

Larry wiped the soap onto his stomach, not taking the time to rinse it off as he clambered out of the shower. His feet hit the slick floor a little too fast, and he could only close his eyes as his ass hit the ground. Desperate, his hands found purchase with the tub’s edge, and he pulled himself back up, albeit wincing a bit. The brunet forced himself to take the time to wrap a towel around his hips before bursting out. The living room was evacuated,and his bedroom door left ajar, light from the inside spilling into the hallway.

 

_Shit!_

 

Larry raced to the doorway, nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he swung it out of the way. Despite the boiling shower, he could feel his blood run cold as Travis looked up at him from where he sat on the edge of Larry’s bed, hands wrapped around a worn book. “What are you doing?” The brunet’s voice came out thick and venomous, and Travis had the audacity to grin at him.

 

“What am _I_ doing?” The blond repeated, eyes flitting back down to the book in his hands. Larry had to steel himself from decking the other as the blond thumbed through a few pages. “Here’s the better question Johnson. What are _you_ doing with Sal’s diary?”

 

Larry had mentally reminded himself one million times over in the car ride back to the apartment to stash the journal away better before Travis came into his room. He had somehow managed to forget, and how could he blame Travis for snooping when the book was opened, pages up, on his bed from a reading session? The bubbling anger and fear he felt wasn't at the blond, but he felt the urge to fight increasing. “Doesn't matter dipshit. Give it back,” he growled.

 

Travis moved back onto the bed as Larry took a few steps forward. The brunet would have taken it by force if it wasn't for the fact he needed one of his hands to keep the towel around his hips. “I’m not done with my reading yet, give me a sec. I’m on this really good part where Sal’s jerking off,” the blond mocked. He flashed the pages towards Larry, just long enough for the metalhead to be able to verify what Travis was saying was true. “I’ll ask this again. What are you doing with his diary?”

 

“We’re friends. I know you may not be familiar with that term but-”

 

“Friends don't let their other friends read things they’ve wrote, detailing how they want said friend to have sex with them,” Travis cut him of. Larry’s mouth worked helplessly, but he couldn't think of a harmless explanation to spout off. “If you’re not willing to talk, I can always just go ahead and return this to Sal. He’s only four levels up, and I can make sure he knows that his best friend was just _keeping it warm_ for him.”

 

The threat was clear. And Larry felt his anger rolling off of him, replaced by icy panic. Him and Sal had been through too much, had worked too hard to get to a comfortable point in their relationship, and all of that could be erased in an instant. “Please don't,” he whispered out, voice straining to stay steady. Travis smiled and shut the book closed, laying it on his lap.

 

“Then start talking,” Travis ordered. And much to his own disdain, Larry did. It was like a dam had been worst. The past weeks, months, of him and Sal’s bullshit had been slowing him down, and he hadn't noticed it until now. He talked, vented, ranted, babbled, and chatted Travis’s ear off for what felt like hours but was probably no more than forty five minutes. He didn’t know what he had expected at the end of his story, but he supposed he had hoped for something more humane than the next statement that left Travis’s mouth. “Get me a date with Sal, and I’ll keep your shitty secret.”

 

“You can’t be serious.” The look Travis shot him was very serious, and Larry felt his laughs die down. “What am I supposed to do? Walk up to Sal, who is head over heels for me, and tell him to go on a date with you?”

 

The blond shrugged. “I don't care how you do it. Just one date with him, and I’ll pretend I never saw this.” The blond raised the journal to emphasize his point, and Larry gulped. He didn’t know how he was going to pull it off without hurting Sal, but the ulterior option would have even worse results.

 

“Deal,” he finally agreed, extending a hand towards Travis. The shorter male took it and shook his hand.

 

“It’s been nice doing business with you, Johnson.”

 

“Shut up, Phelps.”

 

It had only been an hour or two after Larry signed his soul away when Travis hauled himself over to the couch and passed out. Larry had immediately locked his bedroom door and flopped down onto his bed, cell phone in hand. He had managed to think of a plan to get Travis a date with Sal without Sal having to know it was a date. It was dumb, stupid, and could easily go awry if Travis found out his ‘date’ wasnt actually a date, but he had to try. Like he said before, he couldn't just go up to Sal and tell him to go on a date with the blond. Sal wouldn't know it'd be a forced request, and he'd think the brunet was ditching him.

 

Steadying himself, Larry typed out a message to Sal.

 

_Wanna hang out at the burger joint down the street tomorrow - me, you, and travis_

 

Per usual, Sal responded instantly.

 

_Sure : )  Why w/ Trav tho? Are we trying to cheer him up?_

 

With a grimace, Larry sent a reply.

 

_Yeah, send you the time tomorrow_

_Oh, and dress nice XD_

 

When the morning came and the sunlight blinded Larry in the comfort of his bed, he grumbled and got up, wrapping the comforter around him. His footsteps padded softly out of his room and to the front of the couch, where Travis was still sleeping obliviously. “Rise and shine, mother fucker.”

 

Travis let out a scream as Larry fell on top of him, knocking the wind out of him and ripping him from sleep. It took the blond a few moments of furious blinking to remember where he was and who was laying on top of him. “Get the fuck off of me,” he huffed out.

 

“I wouldn't use that tone with me, sunshine, when I landed you a date for the day,” Larry bitterly cooed, but got up nonetheless. Travis immediately sat up, staring at Larry with wide eyes, failing to hide a grin.

 

“Wait, really?” Larry hated the enthusiasm in the blond’s voice, and he knew he was going to be filled with rage and anxiety for every second that Travis went on his ‘date’ with Sal.

 

“Yeah, not like you gave me much of a choice,” Larry muttered out. Travis didn’t seem to mind his attitude though. “You’ll pick him up in twenty minutes, and you guys will walk down to the burger shack. I have clothes if you need to borrow some.”

 

As Travis shot up and dashed into the shower, Larry pulled his phone out once more.

 

_Feeling sick… it’ll just be you and trav today b ready n 20_

 

He could almost hear the disappointment from Sal’s message.

 

_Ok… hope you feel better_

 

The twenty minutes seemed to drag by incredibly slow for Larry. He tried to avoid Travis during the time for the most part. He didn’t need to see the blond running gel through his hair, trying to get every last wiry stray down for Sal. Nor did he need to see Travis plucking his brows. He didn't need to know how far Travis was willing to go to try and woo Sal. Just the thought made Larry want to back out of the situation, but he couldn't do that.

 

“You said I could borrow your clothes, right?” Larry grunted from where he sat on the couch, almost opting to ignore the question. Instead, he rolled his eyes and answered back.

 

“Yeah, why? What did you steal?” Instead of an answer, Travis came out of Larry’s room and walked in front of the brunet. The metalhead’s eyes narrowed as he observed Travis who was in a floral patterned button down, the shirt tucked into a pair of dark washed jeans that were rolled into cuffs at the end. Travis had opted for simple white sneakers. All together, Larry had to admit Travis looked good, and that pissed him off to no end.

 

“So, how do I look?” Travis stuck his hands out to the side doing some sort of awkward rendition of jazz hands. Larry rubbed his forehead with a hand, refusing the very real though to return Travis to his father.

 

“I hate you so, so much,” Larry seethed instead. Travis nodded, lowering his arms.

 

“Good, that means I look hot.”

 

When Travis had walked out of Larry’s apartment and rode the elevator up four floors, he was absolutely jittery. His hands picked and pulled at each other, he shifted his weight from foot to foot, and hummed a little tune. However, once the elevator dinged and opened up to Sal’s floor, Travis knew he hadn't made a mistake. He deserved this date, and he deserved Sal. Speaking of …

 

The bluenet was already in the hallway outside of his apartment’s door, andTravis had to do a double take. Sal’s usually wavy hair was teased to know end, unruly locks flowing at his shoulders like a mane. He had chosen to wear a tight fitting black polo, unripped black skinny jeans, and combat boots instead of his normal ratty sneakers. Once Travis got closer, he could see that the other was also wearing black cross earrings that dangled.

 

“Hey.” Sal spoke first, voice slightly muffled by his prosthetic. For the millionth time, the blond hopelessly wondered what was lying beneath the mask.

 

“Uh, hey,” Travis replied, hands digging themselves into his pockets. Not even five seconds into the date, and the atmosphere already felt incredibly awkward. Great. “Wanna head out?” The blond tilted his head towards the elevator, and Sal moved from his position of leaning on the wall.

 

“Sure,” Sal responded, taking the lead. Travis dumbly stared at Sal’s back as they walked towards the elevator. Great, just great.

 

Despite the icy introductions, as Sal and Travis walked to the restaurant, they grew more comfortable in each other’s presence and were able to have real banter. Sal laughed as he found out Travis’s favorite color was pink, and Travis choked on his own saliva when Sal told him that he preferred taking it, not giving it. It was going swimmingly, better than Travis could have ever hoped for. That was, until, they finally made it to the burger joint.

 

They were sat a table for two, right beside a window. The morning sun temporarily blinded Travis every now and then, but he wasn't going to complain. Their food had long ago been served, and the blond had already finished his cheeseburger, his unwanted pickles the only thing left on the plate. Sal had ordered soup, which was already a bizarre order for the eatery they were at, but the blunet had also ordered it in a togo cup with a plastic straw. Sal could pinch the straw flat enough to feed it through the tiny gap between his prosthetic’s lips and drink his breakfast without having to remove his prosthetic. Sal had apologized for not wanting to have to lift up his prosthetic, but Travis had shushed him, saying he understood. Yeah, it did hurt, but he _did_ understand. 

 

As slurping sounded from Sal’s cup, Travis knew his one date with his high school crush was ending, and decided that trying to make a move couldn't hurt him more than he was already hurting. The blond had leaned forward in his seat, and placed a hand on Sal’s knee from beneath the table.

 

That was when everything went to Hell.

 

Sal’s leg jolted, immediately knocking Travis’s hand off. Even from beneath the prosthetic, the blond could see Sal’s eyes had widened considerably. “What do you think you’re doing?” Sal seethed, setting his cup down on the table. Travis blached, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck.

 

“I know this is probably the only date I’ll get to go on with you and-”

 

“Date?” The question came out obnoxiously loud, and Travis winced. “What gave you the notion that this was a _date_?” It was Travis’s turn to be confused.

 

“Larry told me this was a date,” Travis stated, acting like he was trying to jog Sal’s memory. The latter just blinked at him. 

 

“This isn't a date. Larry was supposed to come with us, but he came down with something this morning,” the bluenet retorted. Slowly, the gears started turning in both of their heads. A grimace graced Travis’s face as Sal leaned back in his chair.

 

“He’s not sick, is he?” Sal asked, and Travis shook his head. “Why would he-”

 

“Why would he trick you into going on a pretend date with me?” Travis scoffed, leaning over the table. He crossed his arms on the tabletop, and Sal felt the need to shrink away from the other’s sudden intensity. Something told the bluenet that he wouldn’t like whatever Travis was about to say next. “To placate me, keep me quiet.”

 

“Keep you quiet about what?” The question fell out before Sal could stop it, and he wished he could take it back as a wily grin contorted the blond’s lips.Travis looked liked a feral animal, on its last leg trying to survive.

 

“He has your diary Sal,” Travis stated. When Sal didn't say anything, he repeated it. “He’s had your diary for so long Sal, and the pages have his greasy fingerprints all over them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts/criticism!!!
> 
> Also, join my SF discord, so we can be friends:  
> https://discord.gg/kYtz72e
> 
> Finally, don't forget to check out my tumblr @violetnuisance for SF content I don't post here/ writing commission info.
> 
> Thank yawll so much for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t forget to leave a comment if you enjoyed! Us authors thrive off the comments


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